-i  £^'  i 


GRISC 


L= 


AMERICANIZATION 


'y'^yip^ 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

KEW  YORK    •   BOSTON  •    CHICAGO  •   DALLAS 
ATLANTA   •   SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNB 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


0 


\  http://www.archive.org/details/americanizationsOOgrisrich 

i 


I 


AMERICANIZATION 


A  SCHOOL  READER  AND  SPEAKER 

By 
Ellwood  Griscom,  Jr. 

Associate  Professor  of  Public  Speaking, 

the  University  of  Texas 

Formerly 

Assistant  Professor  of  Public  Speaking, 

Williams  College. 


JJem  gork 
THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1920 

All  Rights  Reserved 


6-1 


COPTKIGHT,  1920, 

By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  December,  1920. 


•  _••     «.•••• 


f 


3 


PREFACE 

"Americanization — to  give  the  term  its  most  compre- 
hensive meaning — is  the  business  of  making  good  Ameri- 
can citizens,  the  business  of  acquainting  every  one  who 
inhabits  American  soil  with  both  physical  and  spiritual 
America,  to  the  end  that  this  acquaintance  may  result 
in  a  sturdy  loyalty  to  American  institutions  and  Ameri- 
can ideals,  and  in  the  habit  of  living  the  life  of  the  good 
American  citizen.  To  Americanize  America  it  is  neces- 
sary, truly  to  reach  the  native  born  and  the  immigrant, 
the  adult  and  the  child  in  school;  and  incidentally,  the 
task  of  Americanizing  the  'newcomer  will  be  rendered 
comparatively  easy  if  we  can  but  succeed  first  in  Ameri- 
canizing ourselves." 

In  this  "business  of  making  good  American  citjzens" 
we  naturally  think,  first  of  all,  of  the  citizens-in-the- 
making,  the  boys  and  girls  in  our  schools;  for  Americani- 
zation, broadly  considered,  means  education  for  citizen- 
ship. 

This  book  is  intended  for  use  in  the  intermediate, 
grammar,  and  lower  high  school  grades  as  a  reader  and 
speaker.  It  contains  selections  from  historic  American 
documents  and  from  the  writings  and  speeches  of  emi- 
nent publicists,  dealing  with  various  phases  of  the  Ameri- 
canization problem.  Th^jplections  are  grouped  under 
the  folio win§^  captions:  ^l)  Foundation  Stones  in  our 
History  and  Institutions,  (2)  The  Story  and  Meaning  of 
Our  Flag,  (3)  Great  Names  in  American  History,  (4) 
Incentives  to  Patriotism,  (5)  Present-day  Problems. 

Each  selection,  though  a  unit  in  thought,  is  limited  in 

442413 


PREFACE 

length.  This  plan  was  adopted  for  a  two-fold  purpose: 
(1)  to  multiply  the  units  of  interest,  and  (2)  to  render 
the  selections  adaptable  for  memoriter  deUvery  either 
in  class  exercises  or  in  declamation  contests.  Whether 
the  book  is  used  as  a  reader  or  as  a  speaker,  or  both,  the 
"questions  and  exercises"  appended  to  many  of  the 
selections  will  serve  to  aid  in  the  thought  interpretation, 
to  stimulate  interest,  and  to  suggest  topics  for  class 
discussions. 

If  this  book  serves  to  fix  more  definitely  in  the  minds 
of  the  children  in  our  schools  the  basic  principles  of 
American  institutions  and  government,  to  bring  to  these 
citizens-of-to-morrow  a  keener  appreciation  of  the 
nature,  privileges,  and  duties  of  good  citizenship,  and  to 
incite  in  them  a  spirit  of  loyalty  and  service — the  editor's 
purpose  will  be  accomplished. 


The  University  of  Texas 
September,  1920., 


ELLWOOD  GRISCOM,JR. 


CONTENTS 

PART  ONE 

FOUNDATION  STONES   IN   OUR  HISTORY  AND 
INSTITUTIONS 

PAGE 

The  Decl^vration-  of  Independence 5 

Declaration  of   the   Causes   and  Necessity  of 

Taking  Up  Arms — Thomas  Jefferson 9 

The  Declaration  of  Independence — Carl  Schurz.  12 

Imaginary  Speech  of  John  Adams — Daniel  Webster  14 

Back  to  the  Declaration — Abraham  Lincoln....  IG 

Bill  of  Rights — Constitution'  of  the  United  States  18 
Don't    Dislocate    the    American    Idea — William 

McAndrew  20 

The  Great  Charter — U.  M.  Rose 22 

The  British  Constitution — Joseph  Addison 24 

Entangling  Alliances — George  Washington 2G 

The  Government  Established  by  the  Constitu- 
tion— Elihu  Root    30 

The    Frame    of    National    Government — James 

Bryce 32 

The  Oldest  Free  Assemblies — Arthur  James  Bal- 
four      34 

The  Government  of  the  People — George  Bancroft  35 

American  Liberty — Mary  L.  Brady 37 

The    Foundation    of    the    Republic — Henry    W. 

Grady 39 


PAKT  TWO 
THE  STOEY  AND  THE  MEANING  OF  OUR  FLAG 

PAGE 

History  of  the  American  Flag 43 

The   Star-Spangled  Banner — Henry   Watterson . .  44 

Loyalty  Pledge — Adapted  49 

The  Making  of   Our   Country's   Flag — Franklin 

K.   Lane    49 

The  National  Flag — Henry  Ward  BeecJier 51 

America's  Mission — FranUin  K.  Lane 53 

A  Last  Plea  for  Americanism — Theodore  Roosevelt  56 

PART  THREE 

GREAT  NAMES  IN  AMERICAN  HISTORY 

Washington  and  Americanism — James  Sullivan..  61 
Thomas  Jefferson,  Democrat — T^.  C.  P.  BrecJcen- 

ridge    63 

John  Marshall — Henry  Cabot  Lodge 67 

Alexander  Hamilton — Joseph  H.  Chgate 71 

Samuel   Adams  and   the   New   England   Town- 
Meeting — George   William  Curtis 72 

The  Legacy  of  William  Penn — Woodrow  Wilson  77 

Character  of  Webster — Thomas  F.  Bayard 78 

Charles  Sumner — Carl  Schurz 82 

Abraham  Lincoln — Ralph  Waldo  Emerson 86 

Lincoln,  The  Man  of  Destiny — Henry  Watterson  90 

The  Spirit  of  Abraham  Lincoln — Woodrow  Wilson  92 
Looking  Through  Lincoln's  Eyes — FranTclin  K. 

Lane    93 

Robert  E.  Lee — John  W.  Daniel  94 

General  Grant — WiUiam  McKinley 98 

"Stonewall"  Jackson — Moses  D.  Hoge 102 


PAGE 

The  Typical  American — Henry  W.  Grady 106 

The  Potency  of  Eoosevelt's  Spieit — Adapted  ly 

E.  D.  Shurter 107 

Theodore   Roosevelt  as  a  Vital   Force — Albert 

Bushnell  Hart  ,... 109 

PART  FOUR 

INCENTIVES  TO  PATRIOTISM 

Civic  Creeds — Adapted  from  the  'Vreed,"  hy  Edwin 

0,  Grover   117 

I  Am  An  American — Adapted  from  ''The  Rotarian"  118  "^ 

Am  I  A  Good  Citizen? — Meredith  Nicholson 120  ^ 

The  Ideal  Republic — William  J.  Bryan 121 

Why  Does  the  Nation  Pay  for  the  Schools? — 

William  McAndrew  123 

A  Charter  of  Democracy — Theodore  Roosevelt 125    ^ 

International  Patriotism — Bliss  Perry 127 

The  Law  of  Service — Lyman  Abbott 129 

America  a  World  Power — Woodrow  Wilson 131 

American  Citizenship — Daniel  Webster 134  -^ 

Democracy  in  Education — Philander  P.  Claxton..  135 

Americans  for  America — Laurette  Taylor 136 

Equality  of  Opportunity — Will  H.  Hays 139 

Equal  Justice  and  Opportunity — Albert  Shiels. .  141 
The  Duty  and  the  Value  of  Patriotism — Arch- 
bishop John  Ireland 144 

Americanism — What     Does     It     Mean? — Rabbi  ^ 

Emanuel  Sternheim 140 

Good  Citizenship — Henry  Cabot  Lodge 147 

Loyalty  to  Democratic  Standards — Adapted  frorrt-^ 

*'The  Christian  Science  Monitor" l3^ 

Liberty  and  Discipline — Lawrence  Lowell 151  \^- 

United  We  Stand — Edwin  E.  Slosson 153 


PAGE 

The  Ability   to  Reason,  a  Necessary   Quality 

FOR  Citizenship — Arthur  T.  Hadley 156 

Americanism — Theodore  Roosevelt   158 

A  Man  Without  a  Country — Adapted  by  E,  D. 

Shurter 160 

Ancestral  Ideals — Henry  Van  Dyke. 162 

The  American  Spirit — James  Cardinal  Gibbons..     163 

PART  FIVE 

PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

Faith  in  America — George  William  Curtis 169 

Public    Speaking   in   the    Country   Districts — 

Albert  Shaw   171 

Government  by  Public  Opinion — Adapted  by  E.  D. 

Shurter ., 173 

American  Character — Brander  Matthews 174 

Cooperation  with  the  Man  Lower  Down — Frank 

Trumbull    175 

Work  or  Die — Hugh  Wiley 177 

The  American  Mind — Henry  Seidel  Canby 180 

The  Scholar  in  a  Republic — Wendell  Phillips . . .   183 
The   Educated   Man   and   Democratic    Ideals — 

Charles  E.  Hughes  184 

The  Pilgrim's  Religion  as  a  Guide  for  To-Day — 

.    Gustav  A.  Carstensen   186 

The  Influence  of  the  Immigrant  on  America — 

Walter  Edward  Weyl 188 

Can  Democracy  Be  Organized? — Edwin  A.  Alder- 
man       190 

An  Immigrant  Who  Became  One  of  Our  Greatest 

Builders — Adapted  from  "The  Literary  Digest"  191 
Labor  and  the  Common  Welfare — Samuel  Gompers  193 

A  New  Heaven — Lewis  B.  Avery 195 

Citizens  of  To-Morrow— ^.  A.  Hanley 197 


PAGE 

The   Working   of   the   American    Democracy — 

Charles  Eliot 198-»r 

The  Higher  Patriotism — Jane  Addams 200 

Mob  Law — Abraham  Lincoln   202 

The  Power  of  the  Minority  in  Effecting  Re- 
forms— John  B.  Gough   204 

The  Tyranny  of  the  Majority — Frank  0.  Lowden  205 

The  Message  to  Garcia— Elbert  Hubbard 209 

Free  Speech — Theodore  Tilton  211*^ 

The    Conservation    of    Public     Speech — Bruce 

Barton    213'' 

The   True    American — A    Conscientious   Man — 

Franklin  Henry  Giddings 215 

America,  a  World  Power — Archbishop  John  Ireland  217 

Educated  Men  and  Politics — Grover  Cleveland 219 

Common  Sense — Irving  Bacheller ' 223 

Private  Gods  the  Worst  Enemy  of  Democracy — 

Irving  Bacheller 225 

Clean  Politics — Theodore  Roosevelt  227 

Americanization,  What  Is  It? — Don  D.  Lescohier.  229 
The  Duty  of  Christian  Citizenship — T.  Dewitt 

Talmadge    232 

School  Activities  and  Public  Service — William 

McAndrew    234 

The  Immigrants — Ourselves — Fred  C.  Butler 236  *- 

The  Americanization  Problem — Frederic  Sieden- 

burg    239  " 

International  Unity — Philander  C.  Knox 241 

The  Press  and  Modern  Progress — John  Hay ....   243    • 
The   Higher   Education   of   Women — George    W. 

Curtis 247 

A  Pan-American  Policy — Elihu  Root 247 

The  Americanism  of  the  Cape  Cod  Fishermen — 

Joseph  C.  Lincoln  251 

The  Conditions  of  a  Successful  Life — Theodore 

Roosevelt 253 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  Signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence     Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Jefferson's  Draft  of  Part  of  the  Declaration 

OF  Independence  7 

George  Wa.shington  27 

The  Salute  to  the  Flag 47 

Thomas  Jefferson 65 

John  Marshall  69 

Alexander  Hamilton  73 

William  Penn   79 

Daniel  Webster 83 

Abraham  Lincoln  87 

Robert  E.  Lee 95 

Ulysses  S.  Grant 99 

Stonewall  Jackson   103 

Theodore  Eoosevelt  Ill 

Independence  Hall 207 

Grover  Cleveland    221 

John  Hay 245 


AMERICANIZATION 


PART  ONE 

FOUNDATION  STONES  IN  OUR 
HISTORY  AND  INSTITUTIONS 


I 


AMERICANIZATIQN 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

On  June  7,  1776,  more  than  a  year  after  the  battles  of 
Lexington  and  Concord,  Richard  Henry  Lee  introduced 
in  the  Continental  Congress  a  resolution  which  stated 
that  ''The  united  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  ba, 
free  and  independent  states."  A  committee  was 
appointed  on  June  10th  to  draw  up  a  formal  declaration 
of  independence.  The  actual  composition  of  this  docu- 
ment was  the  work  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  John  Adams 
writing  to  his  wife  said,  "Yesterday,  the  greatest  ques- 
tion was  decided  which  ever  was  debated  in  America, 
and  a  greater,  perhaps,  never  was  debated  among  men. 
The  second  day  of  July,  1776,  will  be  the  most  memorable 
epoch  in  the  history  of  Am^rica.'^  The  preamble  to 
the  Declaration,  slightly  amended  and  adopted  July 
4,  1776,  in  the  form  we  have  to-day,  runs  as  follows: 

When  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes 
necessary  for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands 
which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assume 
among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal 
station  to  which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God 
entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  man- 
kind requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which 
impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men 
are  created  equal,  that  they  are  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with    certain  inalienable  Rights,  that  among 

5 


6  AMERICANIZATION 

these  are  Life,  Liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  Happiness. 
That  to  secure  the;se  rights,  Governments  are  instituted 

'.ainong  mcU;  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent 
,of  the  governed, ,  That  whenever  any  form  of  ggvern- 

;  •t^i;mt:  b,ecoi3ies  di^strdctive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right 
of  the  people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute 
new  government,  laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles 
and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall 
seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness. 
Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  governments  long 
established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient 
causes;  and  accordingly  all  experience  hath  shown,  that 
mankind  are  more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are 
sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  aboHshing  the 
forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a  long 
train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the 
same  object,  evinces  a  design  to  reduce  them  under 
absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to 
throw  off  such  government,  and  to  provide  new  guards 
for  their  future  security.  Such  has  been  the  patient 
sufferance  of  these  Colonies;  and  such  is  now  the  neces- 
sity which  constrains  them  to  alter  their  former  systems 
of  government.  The  history  of  the  present  King  of 
Great  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries  and  usur- 
pations, all  having  in  direct  object  the  establishment  of 
an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  States.  To  prove  this, 
let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world. 

Then,  after  giving  a  list  of  the  wrongs  suffered  by  the 
Colonies  at  the  hands  of  the  British  government,  the 
Declaration  concludes  as  follows: 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  in  General  Congress  assembled, 
appeaUng  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the 
rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name  and  by 


•"!»«  '       '    --        -k       '        ^    ' 

»         7T— ^— »V 

rtT^                            r* 

1                                   ^ 

1                           r^ 

1              5 

e-i 

1 

H 

1 

f. 

:>N    c        •*- 

-i      C"^ 

Uir 

CQ 

>       fc        .       ; 

;  r-  ?        ^ 

0 

►^ 

/    i    »* 
^    ^  - 

o  r^v  r- 

o 

•=^ 

o 

I) 

M 

>< 

?^'  i. 

i  ^  ^.  ■ 

1 

'I  .i  •- 

o 

5^ 

§ 

f     Tf!' 

^  -K-r?--' 

i     >  ■ 

a 

! 

H 

1 

►d 

;» 

tel 

!'                       ^        .           - 

^ 

*., 

M 

i                       "^     C         V 

H 

1           .^^  V     ; 

fe; 

1           t    •'     '» 

o 

a 

^  ?  v^ 

^- 

;    t-U 

V 

'            " ' 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON  9 

authority  of  the  good  people  of  these  Colonies,  solemnly 
publish  and  declare,  That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and 
of  right  ought  to  be  free  and  independent  States;  that 
they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British 
Crown,  and  that  all  political  connection  between  them 
and  the  State  of  Great  Britain,  is  and  ought  to  be  totally 
dissolved;  and  that  as  free  and  independent  States,  they 
have  full  power  to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract 
alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  acts 
and  things  which  independent  States  may  of  right  do. 
And  for  the  support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a  firm 
reliance  on  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  we 
mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our  fortunes  and 
our  sacred  honor. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.  Did  the  American  leaders  have  any  thought  of  separation 
from  Great  Britain  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  War? 
2.  What  was  the  attitude  of  the  British  people  toward  the 
Colonists?  3.  What  was  the  attitude  of  the  British  govern- 
ment? 

DECLARATION  OF  THE  CAUSES  AND 

NECESSITY  OF  TAKING  UP  ARMS 

Thomas  Jefferson 

June  23,  1775,  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the 
president  of  the  Continental  Congress  "to  draw  up  a 
declaration,  to  be  published  by  General  Washington 
upon  his  arrival  at  the  camp  before  Boston."  The 
report  was  brought  in  the  next  day,  and,  after  debate, 
was  recommitted,  and  Dickinson  and  Jefferson  added 
to  the  committee.  A  draft  prepared  by  Jefferson  being 
thought  by  Dickinson  to  be  too  outspoken,  the  latter 
prepared  a  new  one,   retaining,   however,   the   closing 


10  AMERICANIZATION 

paragraphs  as  drawn  by  Jefferson.  In  this  form  the 
declaration  was  reported  June  twenty-seventh,  and  agreed 
to  July  sixth.  The  closing  paragraphs  which  Jefferson 
composed  are  as  follows : 

We  are  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  choosing  an 
unconditional  submission  to  the  tyranny  of  irritated 
ministers,  or  resistance  by  force.  The  latter  is  our 
choice.  We  have  counted  the  cost  of  this  contest,  and 
find  nothing  so  dreadful  as  voluntary  slavery.  Honor, 
justice,  and  humanity  forbid  us  tamely  to  surrender  that 
freedom  which  we  received  from  our  gallant  ancestors, 
and  which  our  innocent  posterity  have  a  right  to  receive 
from  us.  We  cannot  endure  the  infamy  and  guilt  of 
resigning  succeeding  generations  to  that  wretchedness 
which  inevitably  awaits  them,  if  we  basely  entail  heredi- 
tary bondage  upon  them. 

Our  cause  is  just.  Our  union  is  perfect.  Our  internal 
resources  are  great,  and,  if  necessary,  foreign  assistance 
is  undoubtedly  attainable.  We  gratefully  acknowledge, 
as  signal  instances  of  the  Divine  favor  toward  us,  that 
Hia  Providence  would  not  pprmit  us  to  be  called  into 
this  severe  controversy,  until  we  were  grown  up  to  our 
present  strength,  had  been  previously  exercised  in  war- 
like operation,  and  possessed  of  the  means  of  defending 
ourselves.  With  hearts  fortified  with  these  animating 
reflections,  we  most  solemnly  before  God  and  the  world 
declare  that  exerting  the  utmost  energy  of  those  powers, 
which  our  beneficent  Creator  hath  bestowed  upon  us, 
the  arms  we  have  been  compelled  by  our  enemies  to 
assume,  we  will,  in  defiance  of  every  hazard,  with  unabat- 
ing  firmness  and  perseverance,  employ  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  our  liberties;  being  with  one  mind  resolved  to  die 
freemen  than  to  live  slaves. 

Lest  this  declaration  should  disquiet  the  minds  of  our 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON 


11 


friends  and  fellow-subjects  in  any  part  of  the  empire, 
we  assure  them  that  we  mean  not  to  dissolve  that  union 
which  has  so  long  and  so  happily  subsisted  between  us, 
and  which  we  sincerely  wish  to  see  restored.  Necessity 
has  not  yet  driven  us  into  that  desperate  measm^,  nor 
induced  us  to  excite  any  other  nation  to  war  against 
them.  We  have  not  raised  armies  with  ambitious 
designs  of  separating  from  Great  Britain,  and  establish- 
ing independent  states.  We  fight  not  for  glory  or  for 
conquest.  We  exhibit  to  mankind  the  remarkable 
spectacle  of  a  people  attacked  by  unprovoked  enemies, 
without  any  imputation  or  suspicion  of  offense.  They 
boast  of  their  privil^es  and  civilization,  and  yet  profifer 
no  milder  conditions  than  servitude  or  death. 

In  our  own  native  land,  in  defence  of  the  freedom 
that  is  our  birthright,  and  which  we  ever  enjoyed  till 
the  late  violation  of  it — ^for  the  protection  of  our  prop- 
erty, acquired  solely  by  the  honest  industry  of  our  fore- 
fathers and  ourselves,  against  violence  actually  ofifered, 
we  have  taken  up  arms.  We  shall  lay  them  down  when 
hostihties  shall  cease  on  the  part  of  our  aggressors,  and 
their  all  danger  of  being  renewed  shall  be  removed, 
and  not  before. 

With  an  humble  confidence  in  the  mercies  of  the 
supreme  and  impartial  Judge  and  Ruler  of  the  Universe, 
we  most  devoutly  implore  His  divine  goodness  to  pro- 
tect us  happily  through  this  great  conflict,  to  dispose  our 
adversaries  to  reconciliation  on  reasonable  terms,  and 
thereby  to  relieve  the  empire  from  the  calamities  of  civil 
war. 


Questions  and  Exebcises 

1.    What  part  ci  this  ovation  sagg!ests  the  famous  oration  of 
PatridL  Henry?    2.    In  niiat  passages  does  Jefferaoa  show  his 


12  AMEKICANIZATION 

firm  trust  in  God?  3.  Point  out  a  sentence  of  which  the  mean- 
ing is  not  complete  until  the  last  word.  4.  What  is  the  value 
of  the  periodic  sentence? 

THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

Carl  Schurz 

Let  your  imagination  carry  you  back  to  the  year 
1776.  You  stand  in  the  hall  of  the  old  Colonial  Court 
House  of  Philadelphia.  Through  the  open  door  you 
see  the  Continental  Congress  assembled;  the  moment 
for  a  great  decision  is  drawing  near. 

The  first  little  impulses  to  the  general  upheaval  of 
the  popular  spirit,  the  Tea  Tax,  the  Stamp  Act,  drop 
into  insignificance;  they  are  almost  forgotten;  the 
revolutionary  spirit  has  risen  far  above  them.  It 
puts  the  claim  to  independence  upon  the  broad  basis  of 
eternal  rights,  as  self-evident  as  the  sun,  as  broad  as  the 
world,  as  common  as  the  air  of  heaven. 

The  struggle  of  the  colonies  against  the  usurping 
government  of  Great  Britain  has  risen  to  the  proud 
dimensions  of  a  struggle  of  man  for  liberty  and  equality. 
Not  only  the  supremacy  of  old  England  is  to  be  shaken 
off,  but  a  new  organization  of  society  is  to  be  built  up, 
on  the  basis  of  liberty  and  equality.  That  is  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence !    That  is  the  American  Revolution ! 

It  is  a  common  thing  that  men  of  a  coarse  cast  of 
mind  so  lose  themselves  in  the  mean  pursuit  of  selfish 
ends  as  to  become  insensible  to  the  grand  and  sublime. 
Measuring  every  character,  and  every  event  in  history, 
by  the  low  standard  of  their  own  individualities,  incap- 
able of  grasping  broad  and  generous  ideas,  they  will 
belittle  every  great  thing  they  cannot  deny,  and  drag 
down  every  struggle  of  principle  to  the  sordid  arena  of 
aspiring  selfishness. 


GAEL  SCHURZ  13 

Eighteen  hundred  years  ago  there  were  men  who  saw 
in  incipient  Christianity  nothing  but  a  mere  wrangle 
between  Jewish  theologians,  by  a  carpenter's  boy,  and 
carried  on  by  a  few  crazy  fishermen.  Three  hundred 
years  ago  there  were  men  who  saw  in  the  great  reforma- 
tory movement  of  the  sixteenth  century,  not  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  individual  conscience,  but  a  mere  fuss 
raised  by  a  German  monk  who  wanted  to  get  married. 
Two  hundred  years  ago  there  were  men  who  saw  in 
Hampden's  refusal  to  pay  ship  money,  not  a  bold 
vindication  of  constitutional  liberty,  but  the  crazy  antics 
of  a  man  who  was  mean  enough  to  quarrel  about  a  few 
shillings. 

And  now,  there  are  men  who  see  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  and  the  American  Revolution,  not  the 
reorganization  of  human  society  upon  a  basis  of  liberty 
and  equality,  but  a  dodge  of  some  EngUsh  colonists  who 
were  unwilling  to  pay  their  taxes. 

It  is  in  vain  for  demagogism  to  raise  its  short  arms 
against  the  truth  of  history.  The  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence stands  there.  No  candid  man  ever  read  it 
without  seeing  and  feeling  that  every  word  of  it  was 
dedicated  by  deep  and  earnest  thought,  and  that  every 
sentence  of  it  bears  the  stamp  of  philosophic  generality. 

It  is  the  summing  up  of  the  results  of  the  philosophical 
development  of  the  age;  the  practical  embodiment  of 
the  progressive  ideas,  which,  far  from  being  confined  to 
the  narrow  limits  of  the  English  colonies,  pervaded  the 
very  atmosphere  of  all  civilized  countries. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Who  was  Carl  Schurz?  2.  What  is  meant  by  "It  is 
vain  for  demagogism  to  raise  its  short  arms  against  the  truth  of 
history"? 


— «. 


14  AMEEICANIZATIOlSr 

IMAGINARY  SPEECH  OF  JOHN  ADAMS 
Daniel  Webster 

In  his  eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jefferson,  Daniel  Webster 
gave  the  following  imaginary  speech  of  John  Adams 
in  urging  the  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence : 

Sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  give  my 
hand  and  my  heart  to  this  vote.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that 
in  the  beginning  we  aimed  not  at  independence,  but 
there's  a  divinity  which  shapes  our  ends.  The  injustice 
of  England  has  driven  us  to  arms;  and,  blinded  to  her 
own  interest  for  our  good,  she  has  obstinately  persisted, 
till  independence  is  now  within  our  grasp.  We  have  but 
to  reach  forth  to  it,  and  it  is  ours.  Why,  then,  should 
we  defer  the  declaration? 

Is  any  man  so  weak  as  now  to  hope  for  a  reconciliation 
with  England,  which  shall  leave  either  safety  to  the 
country  and  its  liberties,  or  safety  to  his  own  life  and  his 
own  honor?  Cut  off  from  all  hope  of  royal  clemency 
what  are  you,  what  can  you  be,  while  the  power  of  Eng- 
land remains,  but  outlaws?  If  we  postpone  indepen- 
dence, do  we  mean  to  carry  on  or  to  give  up  the  war? 
Do  we  mean  to  submit  to  the  measures  of  Parliament, 
Boston  Port  Bill  and  all?  Do  we  mean  to  submit,  and 
consent  that  we  ourselves  shall  be  ground  to  powder, 
and  our  country  and  its  rights  trodden  down  in  the  dust? 

If  we  fail,  it  can  be  no  worse  for  us.  But  we  shall  not 
fail.  The  cause  will  raise  up  armies ;  the  cause  will  create 
navies.  The  people,  the  people,  if  we  are  true  to  them, 
will  C9,rry  us,  and  will  carry  themselves,  gloriously 
through  this  struggle.  I  care  not  how  fickle  other  people 
Iiave  been  found.     I  know  the  people  of  these  colonies, 


DANIEL  WEBSTER  15 

and  I  know  that  resistance  to  British  aggression  is  deep 
and  settled  in  their  hearts,  and  cannot  be  eradicated. 
Every  colony,  indeed,  has  expressed  its  willingness  to 
follow,  if  we  but  take  the  lead. 

Sir,  the  declaration  will  inspire  the  people  with 
increased  courage.  Instead  of  a  long  and  bloody  war 
for  the  restoration  of  privileges,  for  redress  of  grievances, 
for  chartered  immunities  held  under  a  British  king,  set 
before  them  the  glorious  object  of  entire  independence, 
and  it  will  breathe  into  them  anew  the  breath  of  Ufe. 
Read  this  declaration  at  the  head  of  the  army;  every 
sword  will  be  drawn  from  its  scabbard,  and  the  solemn 
vow  uttered,  to  maintain  it,  or  to  perish  on  the  bed  of 
honor.  Publish  it  from  the  pulpit ;  religion  will  approve 
it,  and  the  love  of  religious  liberty  will  cling  around 
public  halls;  proclaim  it  there;  let  them  hear  it  who  heard 
the  first  roar  of  the  enemy's  cannon;  let  them  see  it  who 
saw  their  brothers  and  their  sons  fall  on  Concord,  and 
the  very  walls  will  cry  out  in  its  support. 

Sir,  before  God,  I  believe  the  hour  is  come.  My  judg- 
ment approves  this  measure,  and  my  whole  heart  is  in  it. 
All  that  I  have,  all  that  I  am,  and  all  that  I  hope  in  this 
life,  I  am  now  ready  here  to  stake  upon  it;  and  I  leave 
off  as  I  began,  that,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  am 
for  this  declaration.  It  is  my  living  sentiment,  and,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  it  shall  be  my  dying  sentiment — 
independence  now,  and  INDEPENDENCE  FOR- 
EVER! 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Under  what  circumstances  was  this  speech  supposedly 
delivered?  2.  What  is  the  present  policy  of  Great  Britain 
toward  her  colonies? 


16  AMERICANIZATION 

BACK  TO  THE  DECLARATION 
Abraham  Lincoln 

In  his  campaign  for  the  Senate,  against  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  in  1858,  Abraham  Lincoln  said: 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  formed  by  the 
representatives  of  American  liberty  from  thirteen  states 
of  the  confederacy.  These  communities,  by  their  repre- 
sentatives in  old  Independence  Hall,  said  to  the  whole 
world  of  men:  **  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident 
that  all  men  are  created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed 
by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights;  that 
among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness." This  was  their  majestic  interpretation  of  the 
economy  of  the  Universe.  This  was  their  lofty,  and 
wise,  and  noble  understanding  of  the  justice  of  the 
Creator  to  His  creatures.  Yes,  gentlemen,  to  all  His 
creatures,  to  the  whole  great  family  of  man.  In  their 
enlightened  belief  nothing  stamped  with  the  divine 
image  and  likeness  was  sent  into  the  world  to  be  trodden 
on  and  degraded  and  imbruted  by  its  fellows.  They 
grasped  not  only  the  whole  race  of  man  then  living,  but 
they  reached  forward  and  seized  upon  the  farthest 
posterity.  They  erected  a  beacon  to  guide  their  children, 
and  their  children's  children,  and  the  countless  myriads 
who  should  inhabit  the  earth  in  other  ages.  Wise  states- 
men as  they  were,  they  knew  the  tendency  of  prosperity 
to  breed  tyrants,  and  so  they  established  these  great 
self-evident  truths,  that  when  in  the  distant  future  some 
man,  some  faction,  some  interest,  should  set  up  the 
doctrine  that  none  but  rich  men  were  entitled  to  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  their  posterity 
might  look  up  again  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
and  take  courage  to  renew  the  battle  which  their  fathers 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  17 

began,  so  that  truth  and  justice  and  mercy  and  all  the 
humane  and  Christian  virtues  might  not  be  extinguished 
from  the  land,  so  that  no  man  would  hereafter  dare  to 
limit  and  circumscribe  the  great  principles  on  which  the 
temple  of  liberty  was  being  built. 

Now,  if  you  have  been  taught  doctrines  conflicting 
with  the  great  landmarks  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence; if  you  have  listened  to  suggestions  which  would 
take  away  from  its  grandeur  and  mutilate  the  fair 
symmetry  of  its  proportions;  if  you  have  been  inclined 
to  believe  that  all  men  are  not  created  equal  in  those 
inalienable  rights  enumerated  by  our  chart  of  liberty, 
let  me  ientreat  you  to  come  back.  Return  to  the  foun- 
tain whose  waters  spring  close  by  the  blood  of  the  revolu- 
tion. Think  nothing  of  me — take  no  thought  for  the 
political  fate  of  any  man  whomsoever — but  come  back 
to  the  truths  that  are  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
You  may  do  anything  with  me  you  choose,  if  you  will 
but  heed  these  sacred  principles.  You  may  not  only 
defeat  me  for  the  Senate,  but  you  may  take  me  and  put 
me  to  death.  While  pretending  no  indifference  to 
earthly  honors,  I  do  claim  to  be  actuated  in  this  contest 
by  something  higher  than  any  anxiety  for  office.  I 
charge  you  to  drop  every  paltry  and  insignificant 
thought  for  any  man's  success.  It  is  nothing;  I  am 
nothing;  Judge  Douglas  is  nothing.  But  do  not  destroy 
the  immortal  emblem  of  Humanity — the  Declaration  of 
American  Independence. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  does  the  Declaration  of  Independence  mean  when 
it  says  that  "all  men  are  created  equal"?  2.  Who  was  Judge 
Douglas?  In  the  opening  sentence  what  is  this  "confederacy" 
that  Lincoln  mentions? 


18  AMERICANIZATION 

BILL  OF  RIGHTS 

CONSTITUTION  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES 

The  English  common  law,  upon  which  English  and 
American  liberties  are  based,  was  slowly  evolved  through 
centuries  of  growth.  Its  maxims  embody  the  most 
sacred  beliefs  of  our  race.  It  is  that  ^'law  of  the  land" 
to  which  the  Magna  Charta  refers,  and  its  essential 
principles  are  those  of  the  Petition  of  Right  of  Charles  I, 
and  the  Bill  of  Rights  and  Act  of  Settlement  of  the 
Revolution  of  1688.  The  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  framed  in  Philadelphia,  in  1787,  breathes  forth 
the  ancient  Anglo-Saxon  love  of  liberty  regulated  by 
precedent  and  law,  their  love  of  order  and  discipline, 
their  hatred  of  tyranny,  their  belief  in  the  inalienable 
rights  of  man,  and  their  instinct,  as  old  as  the  race  itself, 
for  local  and  representative  government.  As  long  as 
Americans  observe  the  spirit  of  the  American  Consti- 
tution, especially  the  first  ten  Amendments  thereto, 
commonly  known  as  The  Bill  of  Rights,  our  present 
civilization  is  safe.  Our  "Bill  of  Rights''  is  embodied 
in  the  following  ten  articles  of  the  Constitution: 

I.  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establish- 
ment of  reUgion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof; 
or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press;  or  the 
right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  peti- 
tion the  Government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

II.  A  well  regulated  Militia,  being  necessary  to  the 
security  of  a  free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep 
and  bear  Arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

III.  No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered 
in  any  house  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in 
time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 


"BILL  OF  RIGHTS'^  19 

IV.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  per- 
sons, houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable 
searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated,  and  no 
warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported 
by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the 
place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be 
seized. 

V.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital, 
or  otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or 
indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the 
land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  Militia,  when  in  actual 
service  in  time  of  war  or  in  public  danger;  nor  shall  any 
person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to  be  twice  put  in 
jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any 
criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be 
deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process 
of  law;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public 
use,  without  just  compensation. 

VI.  In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall 
enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impar- 
tial jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall 
have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been 
previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the 
nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation;  to  be  confronted 
with  the  witnesses  against  him;  to  have  compulsory 
process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have 
the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

VII.  In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in 
controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial 
by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury 
shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the 
United  States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common 
law. 

VIII.  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  exces- 


25  AMERICANIZATION 

sive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments 
inflicted. 

IX.  The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of  cer- 
tain rights,  shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage 
others  retained  by  the  people. 

X.  The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by 
the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are 
reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Is  it  ever  necessary  to  suspend  the  Bill  of  Rights?  2. 
What  is  the  danger  resulting  therefrom?  Cite  an  example 
from  recent  history,  particularly  with  reference  to  Articles  I 
and  IV. 

DONT  DISLOCATE  THE  AMERICAN  IDEA* 
William  McAndrew 

Too  commonly  our  school  gives  us  our  opinions  ready- 
made.  We  put  too  much  faith  in  what  we  see  in  print. 
If  public  opinion,  which  is  your  opinion  and  mine,  is  to 
be  at  its  best  it  must  be  what  we  reach,  not  by  absorbing 
the  ideas  of  the  man  who  talks  the  loudest,  but  by  digest- 
ing what  we  hear  and  read.  But  we  are  not  to  disregard 
the  experiences  of  the  great  men  who  gave  years  of 
thought  and  effort  to  the  forming  of  our  national  ideals. 

They  chose  a  few  great  principles  on  which  they  built 
our  nation.  They  wrote  them  into  the  two  great  basic 
documents  of  our  civic  life:  the  Declaration  and  the 
Constitution.  They  proclaimed,  first,  the  principle  of 
equality. 

Equality  means  fraternity,  brotherhood,  fair  dealing, 
exclusion  of  no  one  from  public  benefits  because  of  race 
or  poverty  or  lowly  birth.    It  means  rejection  of  inherited 

*By  courtesy  of  the  author. 


WILLIAM  McANDEEW  21 

titles  of  nobility.  It  means  avoidance  of  distinctions 
tending  to  put  one  man  above  another.  Equality  is  an 
essential  of  the  American  Idea. 

Another  phase  of  the  Idea  is  the  inalienable  right  to  life. 
In  old-world  times  a  monarch  owned  his  subjects.  ''Off 
with  his  head"  was  warrant  enough  to  put  a  king's 
enemy  out  of  the  way.  The  right  to  Ufe  has  been  invaded 
by  others  than  kings.  If  the  greed  of  profiteers  and  the 
ignorance  of  parents  place  undeveloped  children  in 
factories  and  mines  the  American  Idea  of  the  right  of 
all  to  life  is  gone.  Against  this  greed  the  public  schools 
stand  as  the  best  proposal  of  the  national  purpose  to 
give  to  all  the  people  a  chance  to  live  a  rounded,  intel- 
ligent, complete,  American  life. 

The  next  conception  of  the  national  ideal  is  liberty. 
It  has  been  from  the  first  a  watchword  on  our  hps.  We 
could  persuade  ourselves  into  as  much  stupidity  about 
the  meaning  of  liberty  as  we  could  about  the  other  thing : 
equality.  But  if  we  use  our  common  sense  and  knowl- 
edge of  history  we  can  reach  a  workable  idea  of  liberty. 
Washington  led  the  fighting  for  it  but  he  had  no  doubt 
of  its  meaning  when  he  said  "we  must  distinguish 
between  Ucentiousness  and  liberty,  we  must  recognize 
the  difference  between  oppression  and  necessary  author- 
ity." The  Fathers  of  the  Republic  proclaimed  liberty 
of  speech,  liberty  of  thought,  freedom  from  attending  a 
state  church,  liberty  to  change  the  government  by  fair 
and  orderly  means:  elections.  They  took  no  single  idea 
and  pushed  it  to  an  impossible  extreme.  They  were 
practical  men,  the  best  minds  the  country  afforded. 
They  thought  of  liberty  of  the  single  man  in  connection 
with  the  benefit  of  all  men.  They  always  coupled  liberty 
with  another  idea,  the  thought  of  union.  Liberty  may 
seem  to  be  my  personal  benefit.     If  that  is  all  it  means  it 


22  AMERICANIZATION 

is  a  cheap  and  selfish  notion.  But  as  the  Declaration 
told  the  world  of  our  freedom  from  the  rule  of  kings  and 
nobles,  the  Constitution  advertised  our  purpose  to  unite 
for  a  common,  not  a  personal,  welfare.  So  are  these 
principles  blended,  liberty  and  union,  now  and  forever 
one  and  inseparable.  To  assail  our  union,  our  govern- 
ment, our  brotherhood,  in  the  interest  of.  personal 
liberty,  license,  unbounded  freedom,  is  to  break  our 
national  ideal  all  to  pieces  and  to  rush  backward  toward 
the  barbarism  that  existed  before  man  set  aside  his 
selfishness  to  form  cooperative  government,  without 
which  we  should  still  be  roaming  in  the  woods  and  fight- 
ing daily  for  enough  to  eat.  ' 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Review  carefully  the  third  paragraph,  and  point  out 
certain  things  that  the  American  doctrine  of  equality  does  not 
mean.  2.  With  reference  to  the  American  doctrine  of  Uberty, 
give  examples  both  of  undue  governmental  repression  and  of 
excessive  individual  hcense. 

THE  GREAT  CHARTER* 
U.  M.  Rose 

No  one  can  sum  up  the  debt  that  we  owe  to  the  Magna 
Charta,  the  one  great  product  of  the  Middle  Ages.  We 
look  back  with  feelings  of  aversion  and  pity  to  that 
dark  and  troubled  period;  to  its  insane  crusades,  to  its 
fanatical  intolerance,  to  its  pedantic  and  barren  litera- 
ture, to  its  scholastic  disputes,  to  its  cruelty,  rapine, 
and  bloodshed.  But  the  genius  that  presides  over 
human  destiny  never  sleeps ;  and  it  was  precisely  in  that 
most  sterile  and  unpromising  age  that  the  groundwork 

♦Extract  from  a  paper  on  "The  Rise  of  Constitutional  Law," 
read  before  the  Pennsylvania  State  Bar  Association,  June  25,  1901. 


U.  M.  EOSE  23 

was  laid  for  all  that  is  valuable  in  modern  civilization. 
As  an  unborn  forest  sleeps  unconsciously  in  an  acorn 
cup,  all  the  creations  and  all  the  potentialities  of  that 
civilization  lay  enfolded  in  the  guaranty  of  personal 
liberty  and  of  the  supremacy  of  the  law  that  was  secured 
at  Runny mede.  The  various  bills  and  petitions  of 
right,  and  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  while  they  have  given 
new  sanctions  to  Uberty,  are  but  echoes  of  the  Great 
Charter;  and  our  Declaration  of  Independence  is  but 
the  Magna  Charta  writ  large,  and  expanded  to  meet 
the  wants  of  a  new  generation  of  freemen,  fighting  the 
battle  of  life  beneath  other  skies. 

"Worth  all  the  classics!"  Yes,  the  classics  that  have 
survived  and  the  classics  that  have  perished.  Dear  as 
might  be  to  us  the  lost  books  of  Livy,  whose  pictured 
page  is  torn  just  where  its  highest  interest  begins,  or 
even  some  song  of  Homer,  which,  now  lost  in  space, 
shall  charm  the  ear  and  bewitch  the  human  heart  no 
more,  we  could  not  exchange  for  them  a  single  word  of 
those  uncouth  but  grand  old  sentences,  which,  having 
taken  the  wings  of  the  morning,  have  incorporated  them- 
selves with  almost  every  system  of  laws  in  Christendom, 
and  which  still  ring  out  in  our  American  constitution 
with  a  sound  like  that  of  the  trampling  of  armed  men, 
marching  confidently  up  to  battle;  words  which  for 
ages  have  stayed  the  hand  of  tyranny,  and  which  have 
extended  their  protection  over  the  infant  sleeping  in  its 
cradle,  over  the  lonely,  the  desolate,  the  sorrowful,  and 
the  oppressed.  Uttered  by  unwilling  lips,  and  believed 
by  the  wretch  from  whom  it  was  extorted  that  it  had 
scarcely  an  hour  to  live,  the  Magna  Charta  marks  an 
epoch  in  the  annals  of  mankind.  It  began  a  revolution 
that  has  never  gone  backward  for  a  single  moment; 
and  was  the  precursor  of  that  civilization  the  dawn  of 


24  AMERICAmZATION 

which  our  eyes  have  looked  upon  with  joy  and  pride, 
and  whose  full  meridian  splendor  can  be  foreseen  by  God 
alone. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  The  American  Bill  of  Rights  is  adapted  from  the  Magna 
Charta.  Can  you  enumerate  these  rights  as  stated  in  the  first 
ten  amendments  to  our  constitution?  2.  What  king  was 
forced  by  his  barons  to  grant  them  the  charter  known  as  the 
Magna  Charter?* 

THE  BRITISH  CONSTITUTION 
Joseph  Addison 

Our  American  Constitution  has  derived  more  from  the 
English  constitution  and  charters  than  from  any  other 
one  source.  We  are  heirs  to  all  that  is  best  in  English 
life  and  letters.  There  is  a  brotherhood  of  common 
beliefs  that  binds  the  two  nations  as  no  treaties  or  agree- 
ments ever  could.  It  is  with  a  feeling  of  profound 
gratitude  and  pride,  therefore,  that  we  acknowledge  our 
kinship  to  the  great  minds  of  England  and  the  debt  we 
owe  them. 

Regarding  the  English  form  of  government,  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  about  1711,  Joseph  Addison 
wrote  as  follows: 

I  look  upon  it  as  a  peculiar  happiness  that  were  I  to 
choose  of  what  religion  I  would  be,  and  under  what 
government  I  would  live,  I  would  most  certainly  give 
the  preference  to  that  form  of  religion  and  government 
which  is  established  in  my  own  country.  In  this  point  I 
think  I  am  determined  by  reason  and  conviction;  but 
if  I  shall  be  told  that  I  am  acted  by  prejudice,  I  am  sure 
it  is  an  honest  prejudice;  it  is  a  prejudice  that  arises 


JOSEPH  ADDISON  25 

from  the  love  of  my  country,  and  therefore  such  an  one 
as  I  will  always  indulge. 

That  form  of  government  appears  to  me  the  most 
reasonable,  which  is  most  conformable  to  the  equality 
we  find  in  human  nature,  provided  it  be  consistent  with 
public  peace  and  tranquility.  This  is  what  may  properly 
be  called  liberty,  which  exempts  one  man  from  subjec- 
tion to  another  so  far  as  the  order  and  economy  of 
government  will  permit. 

Liberty  should  reach  every  individual  of  a  people,  as 
they  all  share  one  common  natiu-e;  if  it  only  spreads 
among  particular  branches,  there  had  better  be  none  at 
all,  since  such  liberty  only  aggravates  the  misfortune  of 
those  who  are  deprived  of  it,  by  setting  before  them  a 
disagreeable  subject  of  comparison. 

This  liberty  is  best  preserved,  where  the  legislative 
power  is  lodged  in  several  persons,  especially  if  those 
persons  are  of  diiferent  ranks  and  interests;  for  where 
they  are  of  the  same  rank,  and  consequently  have  an 
interest  to  manage  peculiar  to  that  rank,  it  differs  but 
little  from  a  despotical  government  in  a  single  person. 

It  is  odd  to  consider  the  connection  between  despotic 
government  and  barbarity,  and  how  the  making  of  one 
person  more  than  man,  makes  the  rest  less.  Riches  and 
plenty  are  the  natural  fruits  of  liberty,  and  where  these 
abound,  learning  and  all  the  liberal  arts  will  immediately 
lift  up  their  heads  and  flourish.  As  a  man  must  have  no 
slavish  fears  and  apprehensions  hanging  upon  his  mind, 
who  will  indulge  the  flights  of  fancy  or  speculation,  and 
push  his  researches  into  all  the  abstruse  corners  for  truth, 
so  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  have  about  him  a  compe- 
tency of  all  the  conveniences  of  life. 

Besides  poverty  and  want,  there  are  other  reasons 
that  debase  the  minds  of  men  who  live  under  slavery, 


26  AMERICANIZATION 

though  I  look  upon  it  as  the  principal.  This  natural 
tendency  of  despotic  power  to  ignorance  and  barbarity, 
though  not  insisted  upon  by  others,  is,  I  think,  an  unan- 
swerable argument  against  that  form  of  government,  as 
it  shows  how  repugnant  it  is  to  the  good  of  mankind  and 
the  perfection  of  human  nature,  which  ought  to  be  the 
ends  of  all  civil  institutions. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  change  was  effected  in  the  English  government  by 
the  revolution  of  1688?    2.    Find  points  of  similarity  between 
the  En^h  and  American  governments. 

ENTANGLING  ALLIANCES* 
Geoege  Washington 

Washington  refused  to  be  a  candidate  for  a  third  term 
of  the  presidency;  and,  in  May,  1796,  he  sent  to  Hamilton 
a  rough  draft  of  his  farewell  address,  asking  for  his 
criticism.  After  much  revision  by  both,  the  document 
was  published  September  19th,  and  was  read  to  the 
House  of  Representatives.  The  advice  contained  in 
it  has  ever  since  exercised  a  profound  influence  on  the 
policy  of  the  nation.     Washington  says  in  part: 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us  in  regard  to  foreign 
nations  is  in  extending  our  commercial  relations,  to 
have  with  them  as  little  political  connection  as  possible. 
So  far  as  we  have  already  formed  engagements,  let  them 
be  fulfilled  with  perfect  good  faith.     Here  let  us  stop. 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us 
have  none,  or  a  very  remote  relation.  Hence  she  must 
be  engaged  in  frequent  controversies,  the  causes  of  which 
are  essentially  foreign  to  our  concerns.  Hence,  therefore, 
it  must  be  unwise  in  us  to  implicate  ourselves  by  artificial 

♦Adapted  from  the  Farewell  Address. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


GEOEGE  WASHINGTON  29 

ties  in  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  her  politics  or  the 
ordinary  combinations  and  collisions  of  her  friendships, 
or  enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invite's  and  enables 
us  to  pursue  a  different  course.  If  we  remain  one 
people  under  an  efficient  government,  the  period  is  not 
far  off  when  we  may  defy  material  injury  from  external 
annoyance;  when  we  may  take  such  an  attitude  as  will 
cause  the  neutrality  we  may  at  any  time  resolve  upon  to 
be  scrupulously  respected.  When  belligerent  nations, 
under  the  impossibility  of  making  acquisitions  upon  us, 
will  not  lightly  hazard  the  giving  us  provocation  when 
we  may  choose  peace  or  war,  as  our  interest,  guided  by 
justice,  shall  counsel. 

Why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a  situation? 
Why  quit  our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground?  Why, 
by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part  of 
Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils  of 
European  ambition,  rivalship,  interest,  humor,  or 
caprice? 

'Tis  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alii, 
ances  with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world;  so  far,  I 
mean,  as  we  are  now  at  liberty  to  do  it;  for  let  me  not  be 
understood  as  capable  of  patronizing  infidelity  to  existing 
engagements.  But  in  my  opinion  it  is  unnecessary  and 
would  be  unwise  to  extend  them. 

Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable 
establishments,  on  a  respectable  defensive  posture,  we 
may  safely  trust  to  temporary  alliances  for  extraordinary 
emergencies. 

Harmony,  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  are 
recommended  by  policy,  humanity,  and  interest.  But 
even  our  commercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal  and 
impartial  hand:  neither  seeking  nor  granting  exclusive 


30  AMEEICAJSriZATION 

favors  or  preferences;  consulting  the  natural  course  of 

things 

In  offering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these  counsels  of 
an  old  and  affectionate  friend,  I  dare  not  hope  they  will 
make  the  strong  and  lasting  impression  1  could  wish, 
that  they  will  control  the  usual  current  of  the  passions, 
or  prevent  our  nation  from  running  the  course  which  has 
hitherto  marked  the  destiny  of  nations.  But  if  I  may 
even  flatter  myself  that  they  may  be  productive  of  some 
partial  benefit;  some  occasional  good,  that  they  may  now 
and  then  recur  to  moderate  the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to 
warn  against  the  mischiefs  of  foreign  intrigue,  to  guard 
against  the  impostures  of  pretended  patriotism,  this 
hope  will  bfe  a  full  recompense  for  the  solicitude  of  your 
welfare,  by  which  they  have  been  dictated. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Does  Washington's  advice,  offered  in  1796,  apply  to 
present-day  conditions?     2.    What  modem  inventions  have 
effected  a  change  from  America's  previous  isolation  from  Europe? 

THE  GOVERNMENT  ESTABLISHED  BY 

THE  CONSTITUTION* 

Elihu  Root 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  deals  in  the  main 
with  essentials.  There  are  some  non-essential  directions 
such  as  those  relating  to  the  methods  of  election  and  of 
legislation,  but  in  the  main  it  sets  forth  the  foundations 
of  government  in  clear,  simple,  concise  terms.  It  is  for 
this  reason  that  it  has  stood  the  test  of  more  than  a  cen- 
tury with  but  slight  amendment,  while  the  modern 
state  constitutions,  into  which  a  multitude  of  ordinary 

*From  Experiments  in  Government.  Copyright,  1913,  by  the 
Princeton  University  Press.     Reprinted  by  permission. 


.^ 


ELIHU  ROOT  31 

statutory  provisions  are  crowded,  have  to  be  changed 
from  year  to  year.  The  peculiar  and  essential  qualities 
of  the  government  established  by  the  Constitution  are: 

First,  it  is  representative.  ^ 

Second,  it  recognizes  the  liberty  of  the  individual 
citizen  as  distinguished  from  the  total  mass  of  citizens, 
and  it  protects  that  liberty  by  specific  limitations  upon 
the  power  of  government. 

Third,  it  distributes  the  legislative,  executive,  and 
judicial  powers,  which  make  up  the  sum  total  of  all    ^■ 
government,    into    three    separate    departments,    and 
specifically  limits  the  powers  of  the  ofiicers  of  each 
department. 

Fourth,  it  superimposes  upon  a  federation  of  state 
governments  a  national  government  with  sovereignty  >J.. 
acting  directly  not  merely  upon  the  states,  but  upon  the 
citizens  of  each  state,  within  a  line  of  limitation  drawn 
between  the  powers  of  the  national  government  and  the 
powers  of  the  state  governments. 

Fifth,  it  makes  observance  of  its  limitations  requisite     ;^J^ 
to  the  validity  of  laws,  whether  passed  by  the  nation  or 
by  the  states,  to  be  judged  by  the  courts  of  law  in  each 
concrete  case  as  it  arises. 

Every  one  of  these  five  characteristics  of  the  govern- 
ment established  by  the  Constitution  was  a  distinct 
advance  beyond  the  ancient  attempts  at  popular  govern- 
ment, and  the  elimination  of  any  one  of  them  would  be 
a  retrograde  movement  and  a  reversion  to  a  former  and 
discarded  type  of  government.  In  each  case  it  would  be 
the  abandonment  of  a  distinctive  feature  of  government 
which  has  succeeded,  in  order  to  go  back  and  try  again 
the  methods  of  government  which  have  failed.  Of 
course  we  ought  not  to  take  such  a  backward  step  except 
under  the  pressure  of  inevitable  necessity. 


32  AMEEICANIZATION 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.  What  is  the  difference  between  a  government  by  repre- 
sentation and  a  pure  democracy?  2.  How  does  our  Constitu- 
tion recognize  "the  liberty  of  the  individual  citizen"?  3.  Why 
is  ours  called  a  government  of  balanced  powers?  4.  What  are 
the  dangers  of  an  over-centralized  government?  5.  Give  an 
example  of  the  author's  fifth  point. 

THE  FRAME  OF  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT* 
James  Bryce 

Every  European  State  has  to  fear  not  only  the  rivalry 
but  the  aggression  of  its  neighbors.  Even  Britain,  so 
long  safe  in  her  insular  home,  has  lost  some  of  her  security 
by  the  growth  of  steam  navies.  She,  like  the  powers  of 
the  European  continent,  must  maintain  her  system  of 
government  in  full  efficiency  for  war  as  well  as  for  peace, 
and  cannot  afford  to  let  her  armaments  decline,  her 
finances  become  disordered,  the  vigor  of  her  Executive 
authority  be  impaired. 

Had  Canada  or  Mexico  grown  to  be  a  great  power,  had 
France  not  sold  Louisiana,  or  had  England,  rooted  on 
the  American  continent,  become  a  military  despotism, 
the  United  States  could  not  indulge  the  easy  optimism 
which  makes  them  tolerate  the  faults  of  their  govern- 
ment. As  it  is,  that  which  might  prove  to  a  European 
State  a  mortal  disease  is  here  nothing  worse  than  a  teas- 
ing ailment.  Since  the  War  of  Secession  ended,  no 
serious  danger  has  arisen  either  from  within  or  from 
without  to  alarm  American  statesmen.  Social  con- 
vulsions from  within,  warlike  assaults  from  without, 
seem  now  as  unlikely  to  try  the  fabric  of  the  American 

♦From  The  American  Commonwealth  (Revise  Edition),  Part  I, 
Chapter  XXVI.  Reprinted  by  permission  of  The  MacmiUan 
Company. 


JAMES  BRYCE  33 

Constitution  as  an  earthquake  to  rend  the  walls  of  the 
Capitol. 

It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the  main  object  which 
the  framers  of  the  Constitution  set  before  themselves 
has  been  achieved.  When  Sieyes  was  asked  what  he  had 
done  during  the  Reign  of  Terror,  he  answered,  "I  lived." 
The  Constitution  as  a  whole  has  stood  and  stands 
unshaken.  The  scales  of  power  have  continued  to  hang 
fairly  even.  The  president  has  not  corrupted  and 
enslaved  Congress :  Congress  has  not  paralyzed  and 
cowed  the  president.  The  legislature  may  have  some- 
times appeared  to  be  gaining  on  "the  executive  depart- 
ment; but  there  are  also  times  when  the  people  support 
the  president  against  the  legislature,  and  when  the 
legislature  is  obliged  to  recognize  the  fact.  Were 
George  Washington  to  return  to  earth,  he  might  be  as 
great  and  useful  a  president  as  he  was  more  than  a 
century  ago.  Neither  the  legislature  nor  the  executive 
has  for  a  moment  threatened  the  liberties  of  the  people. 
The  states  have  not  broken  up  the  Union,  and  the 
Union  has  not  absorbed  the  states.  No  wonder  that  the 
Americans  are  proud  of  an  instrument  under  which  this 
great  result  has  been  attained,  which  has  passed 
unscathed  through  the  furnace  of  civil  war,  which  has 
been  found  capable  of  embracing  a  body  of  common- 
wealths more  than  three  times  as  numerous,  and  with 
twenty-fold  the  population  of  the  original  states,  which 
has  cultivated  the  political  intelligence  of  the  masses 
to  a  point  reached  in  no  other  country,  which  has  fos- 
tered and  been  found  compatible  with  a  larger  measure 
of  local  self-government  than  has  existed  elsewhere. 
Nor  is  it  the  least  of  its  merits  to  have  made  itself 
beloved.  Objections  may  be  taken  to  particular  fea- 
tures, and  these  objections  point,   as  most  American 


34  AMERICANIZATION 

thinkers  are  agreed,  to  practical  improvements  which 
would  preserve  the  excellences  and  remove  some  of  the 
inconveniences.  But  reverence  for  the  Constitution  has 
become  so  potent  a  conservative  influence,  that  no  pro- 
posal of  fundamental  change  seems  likely  to  be  enter- 
tained. And  this  reverence  is  itself  one  of  the  most 
wholesome  and  hopeful  elements  in  the  character  of  the 
American  people. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    When  was  the  Constitution  last  amended?    2.    When, 
and  to  whom,  did  France  sell  Louisiana?    3.     What  are  "social 
convulsions"?    Give  an  example. 

THE  OLDEST  FREE  ASSEMBLIES* 
Arthur  James  Balfour 

The  House  of  Representatives  and  the  British  House 
of  Commons  are  the  greatest  and  oldest  of  the  free 
assemblies  now  governing  great  nations  in  the  world. 
The  history  of  the  two  is  very  different.  The  beginnings 
of  the  British  House  of  Commons  go  back  to  a  dim 
historic  past  and  its  full  rights  and  status  have  only 
been  conquered  and  permanently  secured  after  centuries 
of  political  struggle. 

Your  fate  has  been  a  happier  one.  You  were  called 
into  existence  at  a  much  later  stage  of  social  develop- 
ment. You  came  into  being  complete  and  perfected, 
and  all  your  powers  determined  and  your  place  in  the 
constitution  secured  beyond  chance  of  revolution;  but, 
though  the  history  of  these  two  assemblies  is  different, 
each  of  them  represents  the  great  democratic  principles 

*Froin  a  speech  in  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives, 
1917. 


GEOKGE  BANCEOFT  35 

to  which  we  look  forward  as  the  security  for  the  future 
peace  of  the  world. 

All  of  the  free  assemblies  now  to  be  found  governing 
the  great  nations  of  the  earth  have  been  modeled  either 
upon  your  practice  or  upon  ours  or  upon  both  combined. 

We  all,  I  think,  feel  instinctively  that  this  is  one  of 
the  great  moments  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  that 
what  is  happening  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  repre- 
sents the  drawing  together  of  great  and  free  peoples  for 
mutual  protection  against  the  aggression  of  military 
despotism. 

I  am  not  one  of  those  who  are  such  bad  democrats 
as  to  say  that  democracies  make  no  mistakes.  All  free 
assemblies  have  made  blunders;  sometimes  they  have 
committed  crimes.  And  yet,  may  we  not  look  forward 
with  confidence  to  the  spirit  of  free  institutions  as  one 
of  the  greatest  guarantees  of  the  future  peace  of  the 
world? 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  How  does  the  British  House  of  Commons  differ  from  our 
House  of  Representatives  as  to  time  of  choosing  its  members? 
2.  Does  England,  as  is  sometimes  claimed,  have  a  more  demo- 
cratic government  than  America? 

THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE 
George  Bancroft 

The  sovereignty  of  the  people  is  the  basis  of  our 
system.  With  the  people  the  power  resides  both 
theoretically  and  practically.  The  government  is  a 
determined,  uncompromising  democracy,  administered 
immediately  by  the  people,  or  by  the  people's  responsible 
agents.  In  all  the  European  treatises  on  political 
economy,  and  even  in  the  state  papers  of  the  Holy 


36  ;  AMERICANIZATION 

Alliance,  the  welfare  of  the  people  is  acknowledged  to  be 
the  object  of  government.  We  believe  so  too;  but  as 
each  man's  interests  are  safest  in  his  own  keeping,  so, 
in  like  manner,  the  interests  of  the  people  can  be  best 
guarded  by  themselves.  If  the  institution  of  monarchy 
were  neither  tyrannical  nor  oppressive,  it  should  at  least 
be  dispensed  with  as  a  costly  superfluity. 

We  believe  the  sovereign  power  should  reside  equally 
among  the  people.  We  acknowledge  no  hereditary 
distinctions,  and  we  confer  on  no  man  prerogatives  of 
peculiar  privileges.  Even  the  best  services  rendered  the 
state  cannot  destroy  this  original  and  essential  equality. 
Legislation  and  justice  are  not  hereditary  offices;  no 
one  is  born  to  power,  no  one  handed  into  political  great- 
ness. Our  government,  as  it  rests  for  support  on  reason 
and  our  interests,  needs  no  protection  from  a  nobility; 
and  the  strength  and  ornament  of  the  land  consist  in  its 
industry  and  morality,  its  justice  and  intelligence. 

The  states  of  Europe  are  all  intimately  allied  with  the 
church  and  fortified  by  religious  sanctions.  We  approve 
of  the  influence  of  the  religious  principle  on  public  not 
less  than  on  private  life;  but  we  hold  religion  to  be  an 
affair  between  each  individual  conscience  and  God, 
superior  to  all  political  institutions  and  independent  of 
them.  Christianity  was  neither  introduced  nor  reformed 
by  the  civil  power;  and  with  us  the  modes  of  worship  are 
in  no  wise  prescribed  by  the  state. 

Thus,  then,  the  people  govern,  and  solely;  it  does  not 
divide  its  power  with  an  hierarchy,  a  nobility,  or  a  king. 
The  popular  voice  is  all-powerful  with  us;  this  is  our 
oracle,  and  this,  we  acknowledge,  is  the  voice  of  God. 
Invention  is  solitary,  but  who  shall  judge  its  results? 
Inquiry  may  pursue  truth  apart,  but  who  shall  decide 
if  truth  be  overtaken?     There  is  no  safe  criterion  of 


MARY  L.  BRADY  37 

opinion  but  the  careful  exercise  of  the  public  judgment; 
and  in  the  science  of  government,  as  elsewhere,  the 
deliberate  convictions  of  mankind,  reasoning  on  the 
cause  of  their  own  happiness,  their  own  wants  and  inter- 
ests, are  the  surest  revelations  of  political  truth. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  was  the  Holy  Alliance?    2.    What  is  an  hierarchy? 

AMERICAN  LIBERTY* 

.  Mary  L.  Brady 

Principal,  East  Side  Evening  High  School  for  Women 

Should  you  analyze  the  American  ideal  you  would 
consider  liberty  an  important  ingredient  of  it,  wouldn^t 
you?  Our  country's  heroes  from  Patrick  Henry  onward 
glorified  it.  It  enlivens  every  patriotic  song  of  ours,  it 
speaks  in  mottoes  of  American  states  and  cities,  it  gives 
meanings  to  emblems  in  coats  of  arms  and  decorations, 
our  beautiful  allegorical  figure  is  the  Goddess  of  Liberty. 
There  are  keen-minded  souls,  mostly  young  and  often 
born  abroad,  interesting  members  of  our  classes,  who 
repeat  "America  is  no  land  of  liberty."  For  a  year  or 
more,  reports  from  Russia  record  that  this  is  spoken 
of  America  over  and  over.  I  have  heard  it  from  street 
orators  here,  many  a  time.  Evening-school  teachers 
have  asked  how  to  meet  it.  Would  it  not  be  well  to  ask 
what  the  questioner's  idea  of  liberty  is?  Why  not  show 
him  that  liberty  in  American  history,  has,  from  the 
beginning,  had  an  American  meaning,  possibly  different 
from  the  definition  he  wants  to  give?  American  Liberty 
has  meant  freedom  to  worship  according  to  your  own 
religion,  freedom  from  the  rule  of  hereditary  monarchs 

*From  Night  Message,  New  York  Evening  Schools. 


3S  AMEKICANIZATION 

who  claimed  divine  right  to  power,  freedom  to  vote  as 
you  choose,  to  change  the  national  government  every 
four  years,  the  state  and  municipal  governments  more 
frequently;  freedom  from  attainder  and  entail,  from 
imprisonment  for  many  acts  still  punishable  in  other 
countries,  freedom  from  trial  without  a  right  to  be 
heard  or  without  the  decision  of  a  jury. 

But  American  liberty  has  not  only  always  meant 
freedom  of  the  people  to  govern  themselves  by  repre- 
sentatives of  their  owti  choosing,  it  has  always  meant 
that  there  shall  be  government.  It  has  always  meant 
order  and  respect  for  the  will  of  the  majority.  If 
rehgious  freedom  was  used  as  a  cloak  for  polygamy,  a 
practice  revolting  to  the  proprieties  respected  by  the 
majority,  religious  freedom  was  restricted.  Tell  the 
story  of  the  Mormons.  If  freedom  of  speech  threatened 
the  peace  of  the  Nation,  freedom  of  speech  was  curtailed. 
Tell  the  story  of  the  pestiferous  Citizen  Genet  and  the 
Ahen  and  Sedition  Laws.  If  freedom  of  action  meant 
resistance  to  the  law,  freedom  was  refused.  Tell  the 
story  of  Washington,  a  father  of  liberty,  and  what  he 
thought  of  the  Whiskey  Rebellion.  If  the  idea  of  liberty 
led  states  to  attempt  to  dissolve  the  nation,  other  states 
prevented  it  by  force.  Tell  the  story  of  Andrew  Jackson 
and  South  CaroHna,  of  Lincoln  and  the  great  lesson  of 
the  civil  war.  Show  that  liberty  has  always  been,  in 
America,  indissolubly  linked  with  union.  "Liberty  and 
Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable, '^  has  been 
an  American  watchword  for  more  than  half  a  century. 

Absolute,  unrestrained  liberty  was  never  an  Amer- 
ican aim.  On  the  contrary  the  dangers  of  unorganized 
liberty,  liberty  which  meant  disorder,  anarchy,  personal 
selfishness,  lack  of  consideration  for  the  common  good, 
were  apprehended  immediately  after  the  war  of  libera- 


HENRY  W.  GRADY  39 

tion  was  ended  and  led  the  men  who  had  done  the  most 
for  liberty  to  set  regular  and  constitutional  bounds  to  it. 
Show  how  our  original  and  fundamental  instrument,  the 
law  of  our  being,  the  enactment  that  made  us  a  Nation, 
put  union  first:  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  Union, 
to  establish  justice,  to  insure  domestic  tranquility, 
to  provide  for  the  common  defence,  to  promote  the 
general  welfare  and  to  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to 
ourselves  and  to  our  posterity,  we,  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  constitution. 
Every  one  of  these  phrases  is  worth  a  heart-to-heart 
talk  on  separate  nights  with  every  class  in  school  until 
by  persuasion,  by  reasonableness,  by  conviction,  a 
teacher  leaves  no  doubt  that  the  soap-box  rantings 
against  present-day  America  are  answerable  by  the 
history  of  American  political  thought. 

THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  REPUBLIC* 
Henry  W.  Grady 

Not  long  since  I  made  a  trip  to  Washington,  and  as  I 
stood  on  Capitol  Hill  my  heart  beat  quick  as  I  looked  at 
the  towering  marble  of  my  country's  Capitol,  and  the 
mist  gathered  in  my  eyes  as  I  thought  of  its  tremendous 
significance,  and  the  armies,  and  the  Treasury,  and  the 
courts,  and  congress  and  the  president,  and  all  that  was 
gathered  there.  And  I  felt  that  the  sun  in  all  its  course 
could  not  look  down  upon  a  better  sight  than  that 
majestic  home  of  the  Republic  that  had  taught  the  world 
its  best  lessons  in  liberty. 

Two  days  afterward  I  went  to  visit  a  friend  in  the 
country,  a  modest  man,  with  a  quiet  country  home.     It 

♦From  The  Orations  and  Speeches  of  Henry  W.  Gradyt  by 
E.  D.  Shurter.    Used  by  permission. 


4d  AMEKICANIZATION 

was  just  a  simple,  unpretentious  house,  set  about  with 
great  big  trees,  encircled  in  meadow  and  fields  rich  with 
the  promise  of  harvest.  The  fragrance  of  pink  and 
hollyhock  in  the  front  yard  was  mingled  with  the  aroma 
of  the  orchard  and  the  garden,  and  resonant  with  the 
cluck  of  poultry  and  the  hum  of  bees.  Inside  was  quiet, 
cleanliness,  thrift  and  comfort.  Outside  there  stood 
my  friend — -master  of  his  land  and  master  of  himself. 
There  was  his  old  father,  an  aged,  trembling  man,  happy 
in  the  heart  and  home  of  his  son.  And  as  they  started 
to  their  home  the  hands  of  the  old  man  went  down  on 
the  young  man's  shoulders,  laying  there  the  unspeakable 
blessing  of  an  honored  and  grateful  father,  and  ennobling 
it  with  the  Knighthood  of  the  Fifth  Commandment. 
And  I  saw  the  night  .come  down  on  that  home,  falling 
gently  as  from  the  wings  of  an  unseen  dove,  and  the  old 
man,  while  a  startled  bird  called  from  the  forest,  and 
the  trees  shrilled  with  the  cricket's  cry,  and  the  stars 
were  swarming  in  the  sky,  got  the  family  around  him 
and,  taking  the  old  Bible  from  the  table,  called  them  to 
their  knees,  while  he  closed  the  record  of  that  simple  day 
by  calling  down  God's  blessing  on  that  family  and  that 
home. 

And  while  I  gazed,  the  vision  of  the  marble  Capitol 
faded.  Forgotten  were  its  treasures  and  its  majesty, 
and  I  said:  ''O,  surely,  here  in  the  hearts  of  the  people 
are  lodged  at  last  the  strength  and  responsibilities  of  this 
government,  the  hope  and  promise  of  this  Republic." 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1 .    Why  is  the  home  *  'the  hope  and  promise  of  this  Republic"  ? 
2.    What  conditions  in  modern  times  have  tended  to  break  up 
the  solidity  of  the  home? 


PART  TWO 
THE  STORY  AND  MEANING  OF  OUR   FLAG 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FLAG 

Every  country  has  one  or  more  symbols  that  represent 
the  principles  and  ideals  of  its  government.  The  most 
familiar  symbol  of  a  nation  is  its  flag.  The  flag  stands 
for  the  nation  itself.  When  we  uphold  and  honor  our 
country's  flag,  therefore,  we  are  supporting  our  country 
itself  and  all  that  it  means  to  us.  There  is  more  mean- 
ing than  we  sometimes  realize  in  the  slogan,  "Rally 
round  the  Flag." 

There  were  several  different  flags  in  Colonial  times, 
but  the  first  real  American  flag  had  its  origin  in  the 
following  resolution  adopted  by  the  American  Congress, 
June  14,  1777:  ''Resolved,  That  the  flag  of  the  thirteen 
United  States  be  thirteen  stripes  alternate  red  and  white ; 
that  the  union  be  thirteen  stars,  white  in  a  blue  field, 
representing  a  new  constellation." 

According  to  the  story,  a  rough  pencil  drawing,  made 
by  Washington  himself,  was  taken  to  Mrs.  Betsy  Ross, 
who  kept  an  upholsterer's  shop  in  Philadelphia.  "Can 
you  make  a  flag  after  this  design?"  she  was  asked.  Her 
answer  was,  "I  don't  know,  but  I'll  try."  She  did  try, 
stitching  the  seams  of  every  stripe  and  sewing  in  the  stars 
in  a  circle,  and  this  was  our  first  real  national  flag.  No 
wonder  that  an  association  has  been  formed  to  buy  and 
keep,  for  patriotic  purposes,  the  home  in  which  was 
made,  by  the  hands  of  Betsy  Ross,  the  first  real  Ameri- 
can flag. 

Although  there  has  been  no  material  change  in  the 
flag  as  originally  designed,  its  present  form  was  adopted 
only  about  one  hundred  years  ago.  It  was  first  planned, 
you  will  recall,  for  the  thirteen  original  states.  As  other 
states  were  admitted  to  the  Union,  a  stripe  and  a  star 

43 


44  AMERICANIZATION 

were  added  to  the  flag.  This  plan  was  continued  well 
into  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  until 
the  flag  had  twenty  stripes  and  twenty  stars.  It  was 
then  seen  that  if  a  stripe  and  a  star  were  added  for  each 
new  state,  it  would  be  necessary  to  increase  the  size  of 
the  flag  indefinitely.  So  on  April  4,  1819,  Congress 
enacted : 

''That  from  and  after  the  fourth  day  of  July  next,  the 
flag  of  the  United  States  be  thirteen  horizontal  stripes, 
alternate  red  and  white;  that  the  union  have  twenty 
stars,  white  in  a  blue  field;  that  on  the  admission  of  every 
new  state  into  the  Union,  one  star  be  added  to  the 
union  of  the  flag,  and  that  such  addition  shall  take  effect 
on  the  fourth  of  July  next  succeeding  such  admission." 

And  thus  on  July  4,  1819,  our  flag  took  the  permanent 
form  as  we  have  it  to-day.  The  thirteen  red  and  white 
stripes  and  the  white  constellation  of  states  in  the  sky- 
blue  field  have  inspired  and  guided  and  protected  this 
great  Republic  of  ours  during  the  past  century  of  our 
wonderful  history,  and  with  our  loyal  support  the  flag 
shall  guide  and  protect  America  for  another  century — 
and  another — and  for  aye! 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.     What  can  you  tell  about  the  other  flags  used  in  Colonial 
days?     2.     What   is   the   proper   form   of   saluting   the   flag? 

3.  How  should  the  flag  be  hung  when  used  for  wall  decoration? 

4.  Should  it  be  used  for  advertising  purposes?    Why? 

THE  STAR-SPANGLED  BANNER* 
Henry  Watterson 
It  was  during  the  darkest  days  of  our  second  war  for 
*From  an  address  at  the  dedication  of  the  monument  over  the 
grave  of  the  author  of  *'The  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  Frederick, 
Maryland,  August  9,  1908.    By  permission  of  the  author. 


HENRY  WATTERSON  45 

independence.  An  English  army  had  burned  the 
Capitol;  an  English  fleet  was  in  possession  of  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay  and  both  these  forces  were  preparing  to 
attack  Baltimore. 

In  order  to  secure  the  liberation  of  a  friend,  who 
was  held  a  prisoner  on  the  British  fleet,  Francis  Scott 
Key  obtained  leave  of  the  President  to  go  to  the  British 
admiral  under  a  flag  of  truce.  His  mission  was  success- 
ful, but  he  and  his  companion  were  kept  under  guard 
during  the  enemy's  advance.  Thus  it  was  that  the  night 
of  the  fourteenth  of  September,  1814,  Key  witnessed  the 
bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry,  which  his  song  was  to 
render  illustrious.  He  did  not  quit  the  deck  the  long 
night  through.  With  a  single  companion,  he  watched 
every  shell  from  the  moment  it  was  fired  until  it  fell. 
As  soon  as  day  dawned,  and  before  it  was  light  enough 
to  see  objects  at  a  distance,  their  glasses  were  turned  to 
the  fort,  uncertain  whether  they  should  see  there  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  or  the  flag  of  the  enemy. 

During  the  night  the  conception  of  the  poem  began 
to  form  itself  in  Key's  mind.  With  the  early  glow  of  the 
morning,  when  the  long  agony  of  suspense  had  been 
turned  into  the  rapture  of  exultation,  his  feeling  found 
expression  in  completed  lines  of  verse,  which  he  wrote 
upon  the  back  of  a  letter  he  happened  to  have  in  his 
possession. 

The  poem  tells  its  own  story,  and  never  a  truer,  for 
every  word  comes  direct  from  a  great  heroic  soul,  powder- 
stained  and  dipped,  as  it  were,  in  sacred  blood. 

"O,  say,  can  you  see  by  the  dawn's  early  light 
What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twilight's  last  gleaming, 

Whose  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars,  through  the  perilous  fight, 
O'er  the  ramparts  we  watched  were  so  gallantly  streaming?" 


46  AMERICANIZATION 

The  two  that  walked  the  deck  of  the  cartel  boat  had 
waited  long.  They  had  counted  the  hours  as  they 
watched  the  course  of  the  battle.  But  a  deeper  anxiety 
yet  is  to  possess  them.  The  firing  has  ceased.  Whilst 
cannon  roared  they  knew  that  the  fort  held  out.  Whilst 
the  sky  was  lit  by  messengers  of  death  they  could  see 
the  national  colors  flying  above  it. 

— "the  rockets'  red  glare,  the  bombs  bursting  in  air, 
Gave  proof  through  the  night  that  our  flag  was  still  there!'* 

But  there  comes  an  end  at  last  to  waiting  and  watch- 
ing, and  as  the  first  rays  of  the  sun  shoot  above  the 
horizon  and  gild  the  eastern  shore,  behold  the  sight  that 
gladdens  their  eyes  as  it 

— "catches"  the  gleam  of  the  morning's  first  beam, 
In  full  glory  reflected  now  shines  on  the  stream." 

for  there,  over  the  battlements  of  McHenry,  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  floats  defiant  on  the  breeze,  whilst  all  around 
evidences  multiply  that  the  attack  has  lailed,  that  the 
Americans  have  successfully  resisted  it,  and  that  the 
British  are  withdrawing  their  forces.  For  then,  and 
for  now,  and  for  all  time,  come  the  words  of  the  anthem: 

*'0,  thus  be  it  ever,  when  freemen  shall  stand 

Between  their  loved  homes  and  the  war's  desolation! 

Blest  with  victory  and  peace,  may  the  heaven-rescued  land 
Praise  the  power  that  hath  made  and  preserved  us  a  nation !" 


foi 


— "conquer  we  must  when  our  cause  it  is  ]ust, 
And  this  be  our  motto,  *In  God  is  our  trust' ; 
And  the  star-spangled  banner  in  triumph  shall  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave!" 


FRANKLIN  K.  LANE  49 

LOYALTY  PLEDGE 

Adapted  from  Various  Sources 

Flag  of  Freedom!  true  to  thee 
All  our  thoughts,  words,  deeds  shall  be, — 
Pledging  steadfast  loyalty ! 

I  pledge  allegiance  to  my  flag  and  to  the  Republic 
for  which  it  stands,  one  nation  indivisible,  with  liberty 
and  justice  for  all.  I  believe  in  the  United  States  of 
America  as  a  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people, 
for  the  people;  whose  just  powers  are  derived  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed;  a  democracy  in  a  republic;  a 
sovereign  nation  of  many  sovereign  states;  a  perfect 
union,  one  and  inseparable;  established  upon  those 
principles  of  freedom,  equality,  justice,  and  humanity 
for  which  American  patriots  sacrificed  their  lives  and 
fortunes. 

I,  therefore,  believe  it  is  my  duty  to  love  it,  to  support 
its  constitution,  to  obey  its  laws,  to  respect  its  flag,  and 
to  defend  it  against  all  enemies,  for  I  AM  AN  AMERI- 
CAN! 

Questions  and  Exercises  • 
Compose  a  pledge  that  embodies  your  ideas  of  loyalty  and 
patriotism. 

THE  MAKING  OF  OUR  COUNTRY^S  FLAG* 
Franklin  K.  Lane 

This  morning,  as  I  passed  into  the  Land  Office,  the 
flag  dropped  me  a  most  cordial  salutation,  and  from  its 
rippling  folds  I  heard  it  say:  ''Good  morning,  Mr. 
Flag-maker." 

*Adapted  from  a  speech  delivered  on  Flag  Day,  1914,  before  the 
employees  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  Washington,  D.  C. 
By  permission  of  the  author. 


60  AMERICANIZATION 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  Old  Glory,"  I  said,  "you  are 
mistaken.  I  am  not  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
nor  the  Vice-President,  nor  a  member  of  Congress,  nor 
even  a  General  in  the  Army.  I  am  only  a  Government 
clerk." 

"I  greet  you  again,  Mr.  Flag-maker,"  replied  the  gay 
voice.  "  I  know  you  well.  You  are  the  man  who  worked 
in  the  swelter  of  yesterday  straightening  out  the  tangle 
of  that  farmer's  homestead  in  Idaho." 

"No,  I  am  not,"  I  was  forced  to  confess. 

"Well,  perhaps  you  are  the  one  who  discovered  the 
mistake  in  that  Indian  contract  in  Oklahoma?" 

"No,  wrong  again,"  I  said. 

"  Well,  you  helped  to  clear  that  patent  for  the  hopeful 
inventor  in  New  York,  or  pushed  the  opening  of  that 
new  ditch  in  Colorado,  or  made  that  mine  in  Illinois 
more  safe,  or  brought  relief  to  the  old  soldier  in  Wyoming. 
No  matter,  whichever  one  of  these  beneficent  individuals 
you  may  happen  to  be,  I  give  you  greeting,  Mr.  Flag- 
maker." 

"But,"  I  said,  impatiently,  "these  people  were  only 
workkig." 

Then  came  a  great  shout  from  the  flag. 

"Let  me  tell  you  who  I  am.  The  work  that  we  do  is 
the  making  of  the  real  flag.  I  am  not  the  flag,  at  all.  I 
am  but  its  shadow.  I  am  whatever  you  make  me, 
nothing  more.  I  am  your  belief  in  yourself,  your  dream 
of  what  a  people  may  become.  I  live  a  changing  life,  a 
life  of  moods  and  passions,  of  heart  breaks  and  tired 
muscles.  Sometimes  I  am  strong  with  pride,  when 
men  do  an  honest  work,  fitting  the  rails  together  truly. 
Sometimes  I  droop,  for  then  purpose  has  gone  from  me, 
and  cynically  I  play  the  coward.  Sometimes  I  am  loud, 
garish,  and  full  of  that  ego  that  blasts  judgment.    But 


HENRY  WARD  BEECHER  51 

always  I  am  all  that  you  hope  to  be  and  have  the  courage 
to  try  for.  I  am  song  and  fear,  struggle  and  panic,  and 
ennobling  hope.  I  am  the  day's  work  of  the  weakest 
man  and  the  largest  dream  of  the  most  daring.  I  am 
the  Constitution  and  the  courts,  statutes  and  statute- 
makers,  soldier  and  dreadnought,  drayman  and  street- 
sweep,  cook,  counselor,  and  clerk.  I  am  the  battle  of 
yesterday  and  the  mistake  of  to-morrow.  I  am  the 
mystery  of  the  men  who  do  without  knowing  why.  I 
am  the  clutch  of  an  idea  and  the  reasoned  purpose  of 
resolution.  I  am  no  more  than  what  you  believe  me  to 
be,  and  I  am  all  that  you  believe  I  can  be.  I  am  what 
you  make  me,  nothing  more.  I  swing  before  your  eyes 
as  a  bright  gleam  of  color,  a  symbol  of  yourself,  the  pic- 
tured suggestion  of  that  big  thing  which  makes  this 
nation.  My  stars  and  my  stripes  are  your  dreams  and 
your  labors.  They  are  bright  with  cheer,  brilliant  with 
courage,  firm  with  faith,  because  you  have  made  them 
so  out  of  your  hearts,  for  you  are  the  makers  of  the  flag, 
and  it  is  well  that  you  glory  in  the  making." 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  does  the  flag  mean  when  it  says;  "I  am  what  you 
make  me,  nothing  more"?    2.    Why  is  our  flag  called  "Old 
Glory"?    How  does  James  Whitcomb  Riley  answer  this  ques- 
tion in  his  poem,  "The  Name  of  Old  Glory"? 


THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 
Henry  Ward  Beecher 

A  thoughtful  mind,  when  it  sees  a  nation's  flag,  sees 
not  the  flag,  but  the  nation  itself.  And  whatever  may  be 
its  symbols,  its  insignia,  he  reads  chiefly  in  the  flag  the 
government,  the  principles,  the  truths,  the  history,  that 


53  AMEEICANIZATION 

belongs  to  the  nation  that  sets  it  forth.  When  the 
French  tricolor  rolls  out  to  the  wind  we  see  France. 
When  the  new-found  Italian  flag  is  unfurled,  we  see 
resurrected  Italy.  When  the  united  crosses  of  St. 
Andrew  and  St.  George,  on  a  fiery  ground,  set  forth  the 
banner  of  Old  England,  we  see  not  the  cloth  merely; 
there  rises  up  before  the  mind  the  idea  of  that  great 
monarchy. 

This  nation  has  a  banner,  too;  and  until  recently 
wherever  it  streamed  abroad  men  saw  daybreak  bursting 
on  their  eyes#  For  until  lately  the  American  flag  has 
been  a  symbol  of  Liberty,  and  men  rejoiced  in  it.  Not 
another  flag  on  the  globe  had  such  an  errand,  or  went 
forth  upon  the  sea  carrying  everywhere,  the  world 
around,  such  hope  to  the  captive  and  such  glorious  tid- 
ings. The  stars  upon  it  were  to  the  pining  nations  like 
the  bright  morning  stars  of  God,  and  the  stripes  upon 
it  were  beams  of  morning  light.  As  at  early  dawn  the 
stars  shine  forth  even  while  it  grows  light,  and  then  as 
the  sun  advances  that  light  breaks  into  banks  and 
streaming  lines  of  color,  the  glowing  red  and  intense 
white  striving  together,  and  ribbing  the  horizon  with 
bars  effulgent,  so,  on  the  American  flag,  stars  and  beams 
of  many-colored  light  shine  out  together.  And  wherever 
this  flag  comes  and  men  behold  it  they  see  in  its  sacred 
emblazonry  no  ramping  lion  and  no  fierce  eagle;  no 
embattled  castles  or  insignia  of  imperial  authority;  they 
see  the  symbols  of  light.     It  is  the  banner  of  Dawn. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Who  made  the  first  American  flag?  2.  Where  and  under 
what  circumstances  was  it  made?  3.  Why  does  our  flag  have 
five-pointed  instead  of  six-pointed  stars? 


FRANKLIN  K.  LANE  53 

AMERICA'S  MISSION* 
Franklin  K.  Lane 

What  is  the  story  of  America?  Is  it  told  in  the  flag? 
The  flag  is  but  a  symbol.  It  represents  hopes  and 
achievements,  and  longings  and  fears;  but  the  flag  is 
not  America. 

The  story  of  America  is  not  told  by  the  story  of  the 
landing  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  or  by  the  story  of  the 
advance  of  the  immigrant  across  the  continent  in  con- 
quering this  country  It  is  not  told  by  the  story  of  the 
battle  of  Yorktown,  or  Gettysburg,  or  Santiago,  or 
Manilla.  It  is  not  told  by  our  great  invention^  and  our 
great  inventors,  Whitney  and  Edison.  It  is  not  told 
by  outlining  the  philosophy  of  Henry  James,  William 
James  or  Emerson.  It  is  not  told  by  our  poetry,  (,h rough 
Poe,  through  Longfellow  and  through  Lowell. 

America  is  an  aspiration.  America  is  a  spirit.  America 
is  something  mystical  which  lives  in  the  heavens.  It  is 
the  constant  and  continuous  searching  of  the  human 
heart  for  the  thing  that  has  been. 

The  people  that  I  love,  the  people  that  make  a  com- 
mon nation  with  me,  are  the  people  into  whose  eyes  I 
can  look  with  frankness  and  directness,  and  know  that 
what  they  say,  they  mean.  They  are  people  whom  I 
instinctively  understand,  who  speak  my  language. 

The  people  that  I  love,  and  the  people  who  make  the 
land  that  I  love,  are  people  who  can  put  their  hands 
down  into  the  soil  of  this  country,  and  take  their  hands 
out  and  smell  that  soil,  and  say  "That  is  ours;  we  are 
identified  with  it;  we  are  tied  to  it  and  we  love  it,  and 
will  fight  and  sacrifice  for  it." 

*Adapted  from  an  article  in  The  Delineator,  August,  1918.  Used 
by  permission. 


54  AMERICANIZATION 

The  people  that  I  love,  and  the  land  that  I  love,  is 
the  land  where  my  boy's  dreams  of  his  future  may  come 
true;  a  land  in  which  I  would  lead  him  to  realize  the 
aspirations  of  his  heart. 

The  land  that  I  love  is  the  land  in  which  my  soul,  my 
spirit,  my  life,  my  ambition  can  have  expression,  where 
I  can  feel  that,  although  I  may  be  of  the  most  humble 
origin,  yet  opportunity  will  open  before  me,  so  that  I 
can  rise,  not  merely  to  place  and  to  power,  but  to  the 
fullest  expression  of  manhood,  whatever  manhood  there 
may  be  in  me. 

So  that  I  am  not  held  down;  so  that  I  am  not 
oppressed;  so  that  no  kaiser  or  czar  can  put  his  foot 
upon  me  and  compel  me  to  a  course  that  is  contrary 
to  the  right  impulse  of  my  nature;  so  with  my  neigh- 
bor as  myself,  that  I  may  regard  myself  as  rightfully 
entitled  to  develop  every  possibility  and  opportunity 
there  is  in  me  to  serve  my  fellows,  and  serve  myself 
and  serve  mankind. 

.  We  are  trying  the  great  problem  in  the  United  States 
of  a  wonderful  experiment,  an  experiment  that  never 
has  been  tried  before.  We  are  gathering  here  from  all 
the  ends  of  the  world  the  men  and  the  women,  Teutons, 
Celts,  Slavs,  all  kinds  of  races,  and  we  are  seeing  if  they 
merge;  if  we  can  blend  them;  if  we  can  make  them  a  solid 
whole;  if  we  can  bring  them  into  harmony.  No  other 
people  on  the  face  of  the  globe  have  ever  had  the  temerity 
to  attempt  any  such  thing.  Rome  in  her  proudest  day 
did  not  attempt  it. 

But  we  have  lost  faith  in  our  own  philosophy,  in  the 
triumph  and  in  the  effectual  conquest  by  liberty  of  all 
the  ills  of  man,  if  we  have  said,  ''Come  here  and  we  will 
make  you  one" — and  if,  after  saying  so,  we  have  failed 
to  accomplish  it.     If  we  do  it,  and  I  say  we  have  done  it 


FRANKLIN  K.  LANE  55 

— if  we  do  it,  then  we  are  to  develop  upon  this  continent 
the  greatest  race  that  the  world  has  known,  and  the 
most  powerful  government  that  the  centuries  have 
known — a  people  that  will  stand  out  for  ten  thousand 
years.  We  are  blending  them  together,  making  a  new 
nation,  estabhshing  order,  being  just,  dealing  with  man- 
kind in  terms  of  fair  play,  and  we  are  making  a  new 
people. 

We  are  teaching  the  world  what  can  be  done.  Why? 
Because  we  do  not  beUeve  that  blood  determines  a  man's 
destiny.  Because  we  believe  that  by  environment,  by 
education,  by  the  kind  of  people  that  he  Uves  with,  by 
the  kind  of  sympathy  that  he  meets,  by  the  kind  of  ideas 
that  he  takes  into  his  head,  by  the  kind  of  things  that 
he  sees  done,  and  by  the  kind  of  work  he  does,  there  can 
be  developed  a  man  that  will  master  his  blood,  no  matter 
what  that  blood  may  be;  and  that  is  the  kind  of  inter- 
nationalism that  I  believe  in. 

We  who  are  new  to  this  movement  have  been  dis- 
covering strange  things  of  late — things  full  of  surprise. 
Five  and  one-half  millions  of  our  people  in  the  United 
States  cannot  read  or  write  this  language.  We  have 
discovered  that  our  neglect  of  the  education  of  those 
people  who  have  been  brought  here  reduces  the  efficiency 
of  man-power. 

We  are  reaUzing  that  we  have  not  been  able  to  get 
inside  of  the  other  fellow's  mind  and  look  out  through 
his  eyes,  and  you  can  never. deal  with  a  human  being 
until  you  are  able  to  get  inside  of  him  and  look  out 
through  his  eyes.  You  must  have  that  kind  of  sym- 
pathy which  enables  you  to  understand  him,  and  then 
you  will  be  able  to. help  him;  that  is  the  task  for  which 
the  government  asks  your  aid. 

Let    us    take    a    strong    resolution    that    America 


56  AMERICANIZATION 

will  be  a  land  in  which  there  will  be  a  surer  justice  and 
finer  sympathy,  a  greater  love  for  all  mankind,  a  fuller 
reahzation  of  the  hopes  of  our  fathers,  and  of  the  hopes 
that  are  within  our  breasts. 
Let  us  make  America  more  worthy  of  our  dreams! 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Why  is  it  that  five  and  one-half  millions  of  our  people 
cannot  read  or  write  English?    2.    Why  does  their  ignorance 
reduce  theu-  efficiency?    3.    What  is  the  America  of  your 
dreams? 

A  LAST  PLEA  FOR  AMERICANISM* 

Theodore  Roosevelt 

There  must  be  no  sagging  back  in  the  fight  for  Ameri- 
canism merely  because  the  war  is  over. 

There  are  plenty  of  persons  who  have  already  made 
the  assertion  that  they  believe  the  American  people 
have  a  short  memory  and  that  they  intend  to  revive  all 
the  foreign  associations  which  most  directly  interfere 
with  the  complete  Americanization  of  our  people.  Our 
principle  in  this  matter  should  be  absolutely  simple. 

In  the  first  place,  we  should  insist  that  if  the  immi- 
grant who  comes  here  does  in  good  faith  become  an 
American  and  assimilates  himself  to  us,  he  shall  be 
treated  on  an  exact  equality  with  everyone  else,  for  it  is 
an  outrage  to  discriminate  against  any  such  man  because 
of  creed  or  birthplace  or  origin.  But  this  is  predicted 
upon  the  man's  becoming  in  very  fact  an  American  and 
nothing  but  an  American. 

If  he  tries  to  keep  segregated  with  men  of  his  own 
origin  and  separated  from  the  rest  of  America,  then  he 

*An  extract  from  the  last  message  of  Theodore  Roosevelt,  read 
at  a  meeting  which  he  was  too  ill  to  attend. 


THEODOEE  EOOSEVELT  57 

isn't  doing  his  part  as  an  American.    There  can  be  no 
divided  allegiance  at  all. 

We  have  room  for  but  one  flag,  the  American  flag, 
and  this  excludes  the  red  flag,  which  symbolizes  all  wars 
against  Hberal  government  and  civilization  just  as  much 
as  it  excludes  any  foreign  flag  of  a  nation  to  which  we  are 
hostile.  We  have  room  for  but  one  language  here  and  that 
is  the  English  language,  for  we  intend  to  see  that  the 
crucible  turns  our  people  cut  as  Americans,  of  American 
nationality,  and  not  as  dwellers  in  a  polyglot  boarding- 
house;  and  we  have  room  for  but  one  soul  loyalty,  and 
that  is  loyalty  to  the  American  people. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Why  does  the  immigrant  try  to  keep  segregated  with 
men  of  his  own  origin  and  separated  from  the  rest  of  America? 
2.    How  can  he  be  persuaded  not  to  wish  to  do  this?    3.    What 
is  meant  by  "a  polyglot  boarding-house"? 


PART  THREE 
GREAT    NAMES    IN    AMERICAN    HISTORY 


WASHINGTON  AND  AMERICANISM* 
James  Sullivan 

Throughout  the  course  of  our  history  in  this  country 
teachers  and  statesmen  have  been  inclined  to  ask,  when 
confronted  by  some  difficult  question:  ''What  did 
Washington  say  about  this?"  And  it  is  seldom  that 
they  have  not  found  some  satisfactory  answer  to  their 
query. 

At  the  present  time,  we  are  confronted  with  many 
problems  which  are  summed  up  in  the  words  True 
Americanism,  and  here  again  we  are  inclined  to  turn 
to  the  writings  and  sayings  of  Washington  to  see  if  we 
cannot  get  from  him  some  suggestive  solutions  for  our 
problem.  In  this  we  are  not  disappointed,  for  in  his  day, 
as  in  our  own,  the  people  of  the  United  States  were  con- 
fronted with  the  condition  of  having  within  the  borders 
of  their  country  members  of  various  European  races 
whom  fate  had  thrown  together  on  these  shores,  but 
who  were,  as  Washington  termed  them,  in  his  Farewell 
Address:  "Citizens  by  birth,  or  by  choice  of  a  common 
country." 

In  speaking  further  to  all  of  his  people  he  said:  ''The 
country  has  a  right  to  your  affections."  To  those  who 
were  born  here,  as  well  as  to  those  who  came  here  of  their 
own  volition,  he  said:  "The  name  of  American,  which 
belongs  to  you  in  your  national  capacity,  must  always 
exalt  the  just  pride  of  Patriotism,  more  than  any  appel- 
lation derived  from  local  discriminations."  "You  have 
in  a  common  cause  fought  and  triumphed  together;  the 
Independence  and  Liberty  you  possess  are  the  work  of 
joint  councils,  and  joint  efforts,  of  common  dangers, 
sufferings  and  successes." 

*By  permission  of  the  author. 

61 


62  AMEEICANIZATION 

Again  because  of  the  great  victory  won  over  a  mon- 
archical power,  and  because  of  the  great  experiment 
which  was  launched  by  a  people  to  determine  whether 
a  great  nation  could  be  conducted  and  properly  governed 
without  kings,  without  nobility,  and  without  privilege, 
he  held  it  before  the  world  with  the  words:  "Nations 
yet  strangers  to  liberty  will  be  led  to  love  it  and  to  seek 
it."  He  evidently,  in  his  day,  could  not  conceive  that 
people  would  come  to  these  shores  and  seek  to  destroy 
the  institutions  of  the  land  which  he  had  fought  so  hard 
to  put  in  its  position  of  independence. 

Above  all  he  had  faith  in  the  children  as  the  true 
Americans.  They  tell  an  anecdote  of  him  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Revolution  when  he  was  passing  through  a 
New  England  village.  The  children  all  pressed  close 
to  him  and  called  him  ''Father."  Deeply  touched  he 
turned  to  one  of  his  generals  and  said:  "The  English 
may  beat  us.  It  is  the  chance  of  war.  But  behold  an 
army  which  they  can  never  conquer." 

Were  he  to  return  to  this  country  on  the  anniversary 
of  his  birth,  he  would  find  these  problems  of  assimilation 
of  foreign  people  much  the  same  as  they  were  in  his  own 
day,  and  he  would  probably  address  us  as  he  addressed 
his  contemporaries  when  he  wrote  in  1776:  "I  have 
labored  ever  since  I  have  been  in  the  service  to  discourage 
all  kinds  of  local  attachments  and  distinction  of  country, 
denominating  the  whole  by  the  greater  name  of  Ameri- 
can"; or  again,  when  he  took  up  the  problem  presented 
by  emigrants  from  Europe  coming  to  this  country  and 
settling  in  groups  of  large  bodies :  "The  policy  of  emigra- 
tion taking  place  in  a  body  may  be  much  questioned;  for 
by  so  doing  they  retain  the  language,  habits  and  princi- 
ples (good  or  bad)  which  they  bring  with  them.  Never 
!forget  that  we  are  Americans,  the  remembrance  of  which 


W.  C.  p.  BRECKENRIDGE  63 

will  convince  us  that  we  ought  not  to  be  French  or 
English." 

If  Washington  were  to  come  back  to  this  country- 
to-day,  he  would  not  stand  amazed  at  the  problems  of 
Americanization,  for  he  had  them  in  his  own  time.  The 
words  quoted  from  his  speeches  and  his  writings  show 
how  earnestly  he  strove  to  meet  and  solve  these  ques- 
tions which  were  raised  by  the  presence  of  emigrants 
from  foreign  lands  to  the  United  States.  His  spirit  in 
the  words  of  one  of  his  biographers  still  seems  to  speak 
and  say:  "I  am  still  here,  my  countrymen,  to  do  you 
what  good  Iiban." 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  How  does  the  America  of  to-day  compare  with  the 
America  over  which  Washington  was  president?  2.  From 
what  countries  in  Europe  did  the  immigrants  come  during 
Washington's  time? 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  DEMOCRAT* 
W.  C.  P.  Bkeckenridge 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  in  its  loftiest  sense  a  Democrat; 
he  loved,  he  trusted,  the  people;  he  loved  his  race;  he 
was  indeed  a  man,  and  there  was  nothing  human  that 
was  foreign  to  him.  He  defied  man  as  man,  and  despised 
and  feared  all  that  could  create  classes  or  ranks.  Man 
as  man  was  free  and  capable  of  self-government,  was  the 
postulate  of  all  his  thinking.  This  was  the  starting- 
point  of  all  his  meditations.  All  men  ought  to  be  free, 
all  men  shall  be  free,  all  men  will  be  free,  was  the  convic- 
tion, the  resolve,  the  hope  of  his  life.     His  part  was  to 

*  Extract  from  a  speech  delivered  at  a  banquet  of  the  Iroquois 
Club,  Chicago,  April  13,  1883. 


64  AMERICANIZATION^ 

assist  in  making  America  free.  This  was  two-fold — one 
part  was  to  secure  such  a  government  as  would  protect 
and  maintain  freedom;  the  other  was  to  establish  a  policy 
that  would  in  the  end  embrace  the  continent.  With 
such  a  government  expansion  was  possible;  neither  the 
number  nor  the  size  of  the  states,  nor  the  extent  of 
population  or  territory,  need  cause  alarm  or  change. 
If  men  are  free — if  governments  are  founded  on  the 
consent  of  the  governed;  if  local  governments  are 
sovereign  and  federal  governments  can  be  limited  by 
written  compacts  or  constitutions,  then  the  possibility 
and  modification  of  mere  forms  become  infinite.  If  the 
object  of  all  governments  is  to  protect  these  inalienable 
rights,  and  freemen  can  secure  that  protection  by  a 
union  of  states  under  one  compact,  tten  there  is  no 
permanent  failure  of  free  government  possible  except 
on  the  single  hypothesis  that  man  is  incapable  of  self- 
government. 

Jefferson  rejected  this  hypothesis  for  himself,  his 
race,  and  his  country,  and  accepted  with  a  loving,  trust- 
ing faith  in  mankind  the  verity  of  his  hopes.  But  there 
must  be  room  for  the  development  of  such  principles, 
and  he  held  the  continent  to  be  ours.  This  new  empire 
was  to  dictate  law  to  the  world,  restore  peace  to  the 
earth,  give  liberty  to  the  oppressed.  Here  were  ample 
homes  to  be  founded  for  the  poor,  and  plenty  for  the 
starving.  The  new  era  of  nobler  brotherhood,  the  sunlit 
dawn  of  a  new  day,  had  begun,  and  mankind  was  to  find 
ampler  room  and  fresher  fields  for  higher  development. 
To  Jefferson  these  dreams  were  actuahties,  and  with  a 
minuteness  of  details  and  a  practical  statesmanship  that 
were  equal  to  the  prophetic  conception,  he  secured  free- 
dom by  the  abolishment  of  a  state  religion;  he  destroyed 
an  aristocracy  based  on  wealth  by  abolishing  the  law  of 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON 


Stuart 


HENRY  CABOT  LODGE  67 

entails  and  primo-geniture;  he  made  naturalization  easy; 
he  dedicated  the  Northwest  to  a  common  country  and 
to  become  free  states;  he  ordered  George  Rogers  Clark 
to  seize  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi  River;  he  aided  the 
pioneers  of  Kentucky  to  form  a  new  state  on  the  basis  of 
universal  suffrage  and  equal  representation  based  on 
numbers,  and  tried  with  almost  superLuman  powers  to 
abolish  slavery.  By  these  wonderful  achievements  the 
new  republic  began  its  career  with  tne  freedom  of  religion, 
freedom  from  possible  aristocracy,  and  the  certainty  of 
the  addition  of  new  states. 

JOHN  MARSHALL* 
Henry  Cabot  Lodge 
What  do  we  know  of  the  man,  John  Marshall?  The 
statesman  we  know,  the  great  lawyer,  the  profound 
jurist,  the  original  thinker,  the  unrivalled  reasoner. 
All  this  is  to  be  found  in  his  decisions  and  in  his  public 
life,  carved  deep  in  the  history  of  the  times.  But  of  the 
man  himself  we  know  little;  in  proportion  to  his  great- 
ness and  the  part  he  played  we  know  almost  nothing. 
He  was  a  silent  man,  doing  his  great  work  in  the  world 
and  saying  nothing  of  himself.  Marshall  seems  to  have 
destroyed  all  his  own  papers;  certainly  none  of  conse- 
quence are  known  to  exist  now.  Brief  memoirs  by  some 
of  his  contemporaries,  scattered  letters,  stray  recollec- 
tions and  fugitive  descriptions,  are  all  that  we  have  to 
help  us  to  see  and  know  the  man.  Yet  his  personality 
is  so  strong  that  from  these  fragments  and  from  the 
study  of  his  public  life  it  stands  forth  to  all  who  look 
with  understanding  and  sympathy.     A  great  intellect; 

*From  an  address  delivered  before  the  Bar  Associations  of  Illinois 
and  Chicago,  in  Chicago,  February  4,  1901.  By  permission  of  the 
author  and  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  Publishers. 


68  AMERICANIZATION" 

a  clear  sight  which  was  never  dimmed,  but  which  always 
recognized  facts  and  scorned  delusions;  a  powerful  will; 
a  courage,  moral,  mental,  and  physical,  which  nothing 
could  daunt — all  these  things  lie  upon  the  surface. 
Deeper  down  we  discern  a  directness  of  mind,  a  purity 
and  strength  of  character,  a  kind  heart,  and  abundant 
humor,  and  a  simplicity  and  modesty  which  move  our 
admiration  as  beyond  the  bounds  of  eulogy. 

He  was  a  very  great  man.  The  proofs  of  his  greatness 
he  all  about  us,  in  our  history,  our  law,  our  constitu- 
tional development,  our  public  thought.  But  there  is 
one  witness  to  his  greatness  of  soul  which  seems  to  me  to 
outweigh  all  the  others.  He  had  been  a  soldier  and 
lawyer  and  statesman;  he  had  been  an  envoy  to  France, 
a  member  of  Congress,  Secretary  of  State,  and  Chief 
Justice.  He  did  a  great  work  and  no  one  knew  better 
than  he  how  great  it  had  been.  Then  when  he  came  to 
die  he  wrote  his  own  epitaph,  and  all  he  asked  to  have 
recorded  was  his  name,  the  date  of  his  birth,' the  date  of 
his  marriage,  and  the  date  of  his  death.  What  a  noble 
pride  and  what  a  fine  simplicity  are  there!  In  the  pres- 
ence of  such  a  spirit,  at  the  close  of  such  a  life,  almost 
anything  that  can  be  said  would  seem  tawdry  and 
unworthy.  His  devoted  friend,  Judge  Story,  wished  to 
have  inscribed  upon  Marshall's  tomb  the  words, 
'Expounder  of  the  Constitution."  Even  this  is  some- 
thing too  much  and  also  far  too  little.  He  is  one  of  that 
small  group  of  men  who  have  founded  states.  He  is  a 
nation-maker,  a  state-builder.  His  monument  is  in  the 
history  of  the  United  States,  and  his  name  is  written 
upon  the  Constitution  of  his  country. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
Discuss  the  influence  of  Marshall  in  giving  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  the  position  it  occupies  in  our  government. 


JOHN  MARSHALL 


JOSEPH  H.  CHOATE  71 

ALEXANDER  HAMILTON* 
Joseph  H.  Choate 

Revolutionary  periods  produce,  if  they  do  not  create, 
men  of  genius  whom  the  exigencies  of  the  times  demand. 
Whether  they  are  bred  out  of  the  conditions  which  create 
the  revolution,  or  always  exist  in  every  community, 
waiting  for  the  supreme  summons  to  call  them  forth, 
seems  little  to  the  purpose  to  inquire.  The  appointed 
hour  strikes  and  the  man  appears. 

In  the  subsequent  making  of  the  new  nation,  which 
the  success  of  Washington  and  his  companions-in-arms 
at  last  rendered  possible,  there  appeared  a  considerable 
body  of  statesmen,  trained  in  political  discussion,  tried 
by  seven  years  of  war,  aroused  by  the  four  years  of 
anarchy  that  succeeded,  whose  combined  wisdom  and 
foresight  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  set  in  motion  the  government  which  it  called  into 
being,  in  a  way  that  to-day  challenges  the  admiration 
and  approval  of  all  thinking  men.  Foremost  among 
these  in  intellectual  brilliancy,  individual  force,  con- 
structive capacity,  and  personal  influence  was  Alexander 
Hamilton. 

The  tragical  death  of  Hamilton  has  done  much  to 
embalm  his  name  in  the  memory  of  his  countrymen. 
Great  as  he  was,  he  was  not  great  enough  to  rise  above 
the  barbarous  and  brutal  theory  and  practice  of  that 
age,  which  sanctioned  and  compelled  a  resort  to  the  duel 
as  the  honorable  mode  of  settling  personal  disputes,  but 
to  which  the  cruel  sacrifice  of  his  precious  life  put  an 
end,  at  least  in  the  northern  states.     Still  in  the  very 

*Extract  from  his  inaugural  address  as  President  of  the  Asso- 
ciated Societies  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  March  19,  1904. 
Bv  pennission  of  Miss  Mabel  Choate. 


7-^  AMERICANIZATIOlSr 

prime  of  his  own  life,  at  the  age  of  forty-seven,  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  career  of  usefulness,  crowned  with  all 
the  laurels  which  his  grateful  country  could  bestow,  he 
was  called  to  meet  his  own  untimely  fate.  He  accepted 
the  challenge,  forced  upon  him  by  his  most  dangerous 
and  unscrupulous  political  adversary,  with  whom  he  had 
had  many  bitter  contests,  and  who  was  at  last  determined 
to  be  rid  of  him.  One  glorious  July  morning,  on  the 
heights  of  Weehawken,  overlooking  the  Hudson  they 
met  for  the  last  and  mortal  combat.  Hamilton  fell 
fatally  wounded  at  the  first  shot  of  his  adversary,  having 
fired  his  own  pistol  in  the  air,  and  so  unhappily  and 
unworthily  ended  the  life  of  one  of  the  noblest,  manliest, 
and  most  useful  men  of  whom  we  have  any  record — the 
trusted  friend  and  companion  of  Washington — and  one 
of  the  best  gifts  of  God  to  the  nation  which  they  labored 
together  to  found. 


Questions  and  hxercises 
1.    What  ideas   advocated  by  Hamilton  were  incorporated 
in  our  Constitution?    Consult  your  United  States  histories. 


SAMUEL  ADAMS  AND  THE  NEW  ENGLAND 
TOWN  MEETING* 
George  William  Curtis 

The  true  glory  of  Concord,  as  of  all  New  England,  was 
the  town-meeting,  the  nursery  of  American  indepen- 
dence. No  other  practicable  human  institution  has 
been  devised  or  conceived  to  secure  the  just  ends  of 

*From  an  oration  delivered  at  the  Centennial  Celebration  of 
Concord  Fight,  April  19,  1875.  Copyrighted,  1894,  by  Harper 
and  Brothers. 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON 


Stuart 


GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS  75 

local  government  so  felicitous  as  the  town-meeting.  It 
brought  together  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  good  and  the 
bad,  and  gave  character,  eloquence,  and  natural  leader- 
ship free  play.  It  enabled  superior  experience  and 
sagacity  to  govern;  and  virtue  and  intelligence  alone  are 
rulers  by  divine  right. 

But  one  cannot  speak  of  the  New  England  town- 
meeting  without  recalling  its  great  genius,  the  New- 
Englander  in  whom  the  Revolution  seemed  to  be  most 
fully  embodied.  He  was  not  eloquent  Hke  Otis,  nor 
scholarly  like  Quincy,  nor  all-fascinating  like  Warren; 
yet,  bound  heart  to  heart  with  these  great  men,  he 
gathered  all  their  separate  gifts,  and,  adding  to  them  his 
own,  fused  the  whole  in  the  glow  of  that  untiring  energy, 
that  unerring  perception,  that  sublime  will,  which  moved 
before  the  chosen  people  of  the  colonies  a  pillar  of  cloud 
by  day,  of  fire  by  night.  People  of  Massachusetts,  your 
proud  and  grateful  hearts  outstrip  my  lips  in  pronouncing 
the  name  of  Samuel  Adams. 

During  the  ten  years  from  the  passage  of  the  Stamp 
Act  to  the  day  of  Lexington  and  Concord,  this  poor 
man,  in  an  obscure  provincial  town  beyond  the  sea,  was 
engaged  with  the  British  ministry  in  one  of  the  mightiest 
contests  that  history  records.  Not  a  word  in  Parlia- 
ment that  he  did  not  hear,  not  an  act  in  the  cabinet 
that  he  did  not  see.  With  brain  and  heart  and  con- 
science all  alive,  he  opposed  every  hostile  order  in  council 
with  a  British  precedent,  and  arrayed  against  the  govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain  the  battery  of  principles  impreg- 
nable with  the  accumulated  strength  of  centuries  of 
British  conviction.  The  cold  Grenville,  the  briUiant 
Townsend,  the  obsequious  North,  the  reckless  Hills- 
borough, the  crafty  Dartmouth,  all  the  ermined  and 
coroneted  chiefs  of  the  proudest  aristocracy  in  the  world. 


76  AMERICANIZATION" 

derided,  declaimed,  denounced,  levied  unjust  taxes,  and 
sent  troops  to  collect  them,  cheered  loudly  by  a  servile 
Parliament,  the  parasite  of  a  headstrong  king;  and  the 
plain  Boston  Puritan  laid  his  finger  on  the  vital  point 
of  the  tremendous  controversy,  and  held  to  it  inexorably 
king,  lords,  commons,  the  people  of  England,  and  the 
people  of  America.  Intrenched  in  his  own  honesty, 
the  king's  gold  could  not  buy  him;  enshrined  in  the  love 
of  his  fellow  citizens,  the  king's  writ  could  not  take  him; 
and  when,  on  the  morning  of  Lexington,  the  king's 
troops  marched  to  seize  him,  his  sublime  faith  saw  beyond 
the  clouds  of  the  moment  the  rising  sun  of  the  America 
that  we  behold;  and,  careless  of  himself,  mindful  only 
of  his  country,  he  exultingly  exclaimed,  ''Oh,  what  a 
glorious  morning!" 

Yet  this  man  held  no  office  but  that  of  Clerk  of  the 
Assembly,  to  which  he  was  yearly  elected,  and  that  of 
constant  moderator  of  the  town-meeting.  That  was  his 
mighty  weapon.  The  town-meeting  was  the  alarm  bell 
with  which  he  aroused  the  continent;  it  was  the  rapier 
with  which  he  fenced  with  the  ministry;  it  was  the  clay- 
more with  which  he  smote  their  counsels;  it  was  the 
harp  of  a  thousand  strings  that  he  swept  into  a  burst  of 
passionate  defiance,  or  an  electric  call  to  arms,  or  a 
proud  psean  of  exulting  triumph,  defiance,  challenge, 
and  exultation — all  lifting  the  continent  to  indepen- 
dence. His  indomitable  will  and  command  of  the 
popular  confidence  played  Boston  against  London,  the 
provincial  town-meeting  against  the  royal  Parliament, 
Faneuil  Hall  against  St.  Stephen's.  And  as  long  as  the 
American  town-meeting  is  known,  its  great  genius  will 
be  revered  who  with  the  town-meeting  overthrew  an 
empire.  So  long  as  Faneuil  Hall  stands,  Samuel  Adams 
will  not  want  his  most  fitting  monument;  and,  when 


WOODROW  WILSON  ^^  77 

Faneuil  Hall  falls,  its  name  with  his  will  be  found  written 
as  with  a  sunbeam  upon  every  faithful  American  heart. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Is  there  at  the  present  time,  either  in  this  country  or  in 
other  countries,  a  civic  organization  like  that  of  the  old  New 
England  town-meeting?  2.  Can  you  explain  all  the  historical 
allusions  in  this  selection?  For  example,  the  quotation  from 
Adams  at  the  close  of  the  third  paragraph.  3.  Who  were  the 
men  that  are  mentioned  as  contemporaries  of  Adams?  4.  Find 
in  this  selection  examples  of  the  balanced  structure. 


THE  LEGACY  OF  WILLIAM  PENN* 

WooDRow  Wilson 

To  think  of  William  Penn  is  to  think  of  him  as  a  sort 
of  spiritual  knight  who  went  out  upon  his  adventures 
to  carry  the  torch  that  had  been  put  into  his  hands,  so 
that  other  men  might  have  the  path  illuminated  for 
them  which  led  to  justice,  liberty,  and  peace;  and  it 
cannot  be  admitted  that  a  man  establishes  his  right  to 
call  himself  a  college  or  high  school  graduate  by  exhibit- 
ing his  diploma.  The  only  way  he  can  prove  it  is  by 
showing  that  his  eyes  are  lifted  to  some  horizon  which 
other  men  less  instructed  than  he  have  not  been  privi- 
leged to  see.  Unless  he  carry  freight  of  the  spirit,  he 
has  not  been  bred  where  spirits  are  bred.  William  Penn, 
presenting  the  sweet  enterprise  of  the  quiet  and  powerful 
sect  that  called  themselves  Friends,  proved  his  right  to 
the  title  by  being  the  friend  of  mankind;  and  he  crossed 
the  ocean  not  merely  to  establish  estates  in  America, 
but  to  set  up  a  free  commonwealth  in  America  and  to 

*  Adapted  from  an  address  to  the  students  of  Swarthmore 
College,  October  25,  1913. 


78  AMERICANIZATION 

show  that  he  was  of  the  Hneage  of  those  who  had  been 
bred  in  the  best  traditions  of  the  human  spirit.  We 
should  not  be  interested  in  celebrating  the  memory  of 
William  Penn  if  his  conquest  had  been  merely  a  material 
one.  Sometimes  we  have  been  laughed  at  by  foreigners 
in  particular  for  boasting  about  the  size  of  the  American 
continent,  the  size  of  our  own  domain  as  a  nation,  and 
they  have  naturally  suggested  that  we  did  not  make  it. 
But  there  is  much  merit  in  the  claim  that  every  race 
and  every  man  is  as  big  as  the  thing  he  takes  possession 
of,  and  that  the  size  of  America  is  in  some  sense  a  stan- 
dard of  the  size  and  capacity  of  the  American  people. 
But  the  extent  of  the  American  conquest  is  not  what 
gives  America  distinction  in  the  annals  of  the  world. 
It  is  the  professed  purpose  of  the  Quaker,  which  was  to 
see  to  it  that  every  foot  of  the  land  should  be  the  home 
of  the  free,  self-governed  people,  who  should  have  no 
government  whatever  which  did  not  rest  upon  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed.  And  the  spirit  of  Penn  will  not 
be  stayed.  You  cannot  set  limits  to  such  adventures. 
After  their  own  days  are  gone,  their  spirits  stalk  the 
world,  carrying  inspiration  everywhere  they  go,  and 
reminding  men  of  the  fine  lineage  of  those  who  have 
sought  justice  and  the  right. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Why  did  President  Wilson  speak  about  Perm  at  Swarth- 
more  College?    2.    Who  are  the  Quakers? 

CHARACTER  OF  WEBSTER 
Thomas  F.  Bayard 

In  a  humble  farm-house  in  the  town  of  Salisbury,  New 
Hampshire,  Daniel  Webster  was  born.   It  was  an  American 


WILLIAM  PENN 


THOMAS  F.  BAYAED  81 

homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  that  "quarter 
section/'  so  well  known  to  the  land  laws  of  the  United 
States.  There  this  great  typical  American  first  saw  the 
light.  There  first  he  learned,  from  a  pious  mother's  lips, 
the  letters  of  the  language  that  in  later  days,  by  speech 
and  writing,  he  was  destined  to  adorn.  From  that 
mother's  teachings  he  imbibed  in  tender  infancy  those 
vital  truths  of  religion  and  morality  which  formed  the 
basis  of  his  character,  and  to-day  give  strength  and 
permanence  to  the  immortal  part  that  survives. 

He  was  born  in  New  Hampshire,  and  he  died  in 
Massachusetts,  but  he  lived  and  died  with  a  love  for  his 
whole  country  that  never  knew  state  lines,  nor  paused 
upon  the  imaginary  boundaries  of  sections.  Nature  had 
gifted  him  with  great  powers  of  mind,  coupled  with  warm 
and  generous  feeUngs.  His  intellect  enabled  him  to 
comprehend  the  mighty  and  manifold  interests  of 
humanity,  contained  within  the  Federal  Union, and  his 
heart  was  large  enough  to  embrace  them  all.  Before 
or  since,  New  England  has  had  no  such  champion  or 
representative,  but  he  gained  no  victory  for  her  at  the 
cost  of  other  portions  of  his  country;  and  in  all  the  loving 
praise  and  manly  defence  of  his  own  home,  in  no  speech 
or  letter,  wherever  uttered  or  written,  not  a  thought  or 
expression,  belittling  or  derogatory  to  reputation,  or 
wounding  to  the  self-love  of  any  other  portion  of  his 
fellow  countrymen,  have  I  found. 

Webster  was  a  statesman  living  under  a  written 
constitution  of  government,  and  his  creed  may  neither 
be  stated  in  a  breath,  nor  condensed  into  a  phrase.  It 
would  be  as  delusive  as  it  is  unjust  to  try  such  a  man  by 
phrases  torn  from  their  context,  and  by  chance  expres- 
sions, without  interpreting  them  by  the  general  mean- 
ing which  surrounds  them.     But  as  to  some  meanings 


83  AMERICANIZATION 

there  is  no  doubt;  and  that  Webster  was  the  soldier  of 
the  constitution,  because  it  created  and  continued  the 
government  of  "a.  more  perfect  Union,"  is  as  fixed  as 
the  everlasting  hills  of  his  native  state.  With  a  vision 
that  was  prophetic,  he  witnessed  the  growing  alienation 
of  his  countrymen,  and  the  dangers  to  the  Union  which 
it  threatened.  These  apprehensions  clouded  his  antici- 
pations, and  the  recorded  and  reiterated  warnings  and 
deprecations  against  sectional  animosities,  that  burst 
from  his  very  heart,  are  almost  countless.  They  form 
part  of  his  history,  and  read  now  and  hereafter  they  will 
ever  attest  the  sagacity  of  his  mental  vision,  and  the 
depth  and  sincerity  of  his  patriotism. 

The  veil  which  hides  from  our  eyes  the  future,  no 
doubt  conceals,  in  mercy,  many  an  assault  upon  the 
peace,  law,  and  liberty  of  the  land  we  love;  and  in  the 
misty  foreground  of  the  future,  I  fear  there  are  dimly  to 
be  discerned  forms  and  shapes  of  evil.  But  we  must 
stand  as  the  father  of  Webster  stood,  "a,  minute-man," 
ready  for  their  defence,  fortified,  enlarged,  and  refreshed 
by  the  memories  and  the  counsel  of  our  great  country- 
man— Daniel  Webster. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Give  a  few  of  the  outstanding  incidents  of  Webster's 
fife. 

CHARLES  SUMNER 
Carl  Schurz 

Honor  to  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  who  for  twenty- 
three  years  kept  in  the  Senate,  and  would  have  kept  him 
there  longer  had  he  lived,  a  man  who  never,  even  to 
them,  conceded  a  single  iota  of  his  convictions  in  order 


DANIEL  WEBSTER 


GAEL  SCHUEZ  85 

to  remain  there.  And  what  a  Ufe  was  his!  A  life  so 
wholly  devoted  to  what  was  good  and  noble!  There  he 
stood  in  the  midst  of  the  grasping  materialism  of  his 
times,  around  him  the  eager  chase  for  the  almighty  dollar, 
no  thought  of  opportunity  ever  entering  the  smallest 
corner  of  his  mind  and  disturbing  his  high  endeavors; 
with  a  virtue  which  the  possession  of  power  could  not 
even  tempt,  much  less  debauch,  from  whose  presence 
the  very  thought  of  corruption  instinctively  shrunk 
back;  a  Hfe  so  unspotted,  an  integrity  so  intact,  a  charac- 
ter so  high,  that  the  most  daring  eagerness  of  calumny, 
the  most  wanton  audacity  of  insinuation,  standing  on 
tiptoe,  could  not  touch  the  soles  of  his  shoes. 

He  is  at  rest  now,  the  brave  old  champion,  whose  face 
and  bearing  were  so  austere,  but  whose  heart  was  so 
full  of  tenderness;  who  began  his  career  with  a  pathetic 
appeal  for  universal  peace  and  charity,  and  whose  whole 
life  was  an  arduous,  incessant,  never-resting  struggle, 
which  left  him  all  covered  with  scars.  We  can  but 
remember  his  lofty  ideals  of  liberty  and  equality  and 
justice  and  reconciliation  and  purity,  and  the  earnest- 
ness and  courage  and  touching  fidelity  with  which  he 
fought  for  them — so  genuine  in  his  sincerity,  so  single- 
minded  in  his  zeal,  so  heroic  in  his  devotion. 

People  of  Massachusetts,  he  was  the  son  of  your  soil 
in  which  he  now  sleeps,  but  he  is  not  all  your  own;  he 
belongs  to  all  of  us  in  the  North  and  in  the  South,  to  the 
blacks  he  helped  to  make  free,  and  to  the  whites  he 
strove  to  make  brothers  again.  On  the  grave  of  him 
whom  so  many  thought  to  be  their  enemy  and  found  to 
be  their  friend,  let  the  hands  be  clasped  which  so  bit- 
terly warred  against  each  other.  Upon  that  grave  let 
the  youth  of  America  be  taught,  by  the  story  of  his  life, 
that  not  only  genius,  power,  and  success;  but,  more  than 


86  AMERICANIZATION 

these,  patriotic  devotion  and  virtue,  make  the  greatness 
of  the  citizen.  If  this  lesson  be  understood,  more  than 
Charles  Sumner's  living  word  could  have  done  for  the 
glory  of  America,  will  be  done,  by  his  great  example; 
and  it  may  truly  be  said  that  although  his  body  lies  in 
the  earth,  yet  in  the  assured  rights  of  all,  in  the  brother- 
hood of  a  reunited  people,  and  in  a  purified  Republic,  he 
still  lives  and  will  live  forever. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.    Name  other  great  Americans  who  labored  long  and  earn- 
estly to  have  slavery  aboUshed  throughout  the  United  States. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN* 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson 

President  Lincoln  stood  before  us  as  a  man  of  the 
people.  He  was  thoroughly  American,  had  never 
crossed  the  sea,  had  never  been  spoiled  by  English 
insularity  or  French  dissipation;  ajquite  native,  aborig- 
inal man,  as  an  acorn  from  the  oak;  no  aping  of  foreigners, 
no  frivolous  accomplishments,  Kentuckian  born,  working 
on  a  farm,  a  flatboatman,  a  captain  in  the  Black  Hawk 
War,  a  country  lawyer,  a  representative  in  the  rural 
legislature  of  Illinois — on  such  modest  foundations  the 
broad  structure  of  his  fame  was  laid.  How  slowly,  and 
yet  by  happily  prepared  steps,  he  came  to  his  place. 

A  plain  man  of  the  people,  he  offered  no  shining  quali- 
ties at  the  first  encounter;  he  did  not  offend  by  superior- 
ity. He  had  a  face  and  manner  which  disarmed  sus- 
picion, which  inspired  confidence,  which  confirmed  good- 
will.    Then,  he  had  what  farmers  call  a  long  head;  was 

*From  a  speech  delivered  at  Concord,  Mass. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


Brady 


RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON  89 

excellent  in  working  out  the  sum  for  himself;  in  arguing 
his  case  and  convincing  you  fairly  and  firmly.  He  was  a 
great  worker;  had  prodigious  faculty  of  performance; 
worked  easily.  A  good  worker  is  so  rare;  everybody  has 
some  disabling  quality.  In  a  host  of  young  men  that 
start  together  and  promise  so  many  brilliant  leaders 
for  the  next  age,  each  fails  on  trial;  one  by  bad  health, 
one  by  conceit,  or  by  love  of  pleasure,  or  lethargy,  or  an 
ugly  temper — each  has  some  disqualifying  fault  that 
throws  him  out  of  the  career.  But  this  man  was  sound 
to  the  core,  cheerful,  persistent,  all  right  for  labor,  and 
hked  nothing  so  well. 

Then,  he  had  a  vast  good-nature,  which  made  him 
tolerant  and  accessible  to  all;  fair-minded,  leaning  to  the 
claim  of  the  petitioner;  affable,  and  not  sensible  to  the 
affliction  which  the  innumerable  visits  paid  to  him 
when  President  would  have  brought  to  any  one  else. 

Then,  what  an  occasion  was  the  whirlwind  of  the  war. 
Here  was  place  for  no  hoUday  magistrate,  no  fair- 
weather  sailor;  the  new  pilot  was  hurried  to  the  helm  in 
a  tornado.  In  four  years — four  years  of  battle  days — 
his  ndurance,  his  fertility  of  resources,  his  magnanimity, 
were  sorely  tried  and  never  found  wanting.  There  by 
his  courage,  his  justice,  his  even  temper,  his  fertile 
counsel,  his  humanity,  he  stood  a  heroic  figure  in  the 
centre  of  a  heroic  epoch.  He  is  the  true  history  of  the 
American  people  of  his  time.  Step  by  step  he  walked 
before  them;  slow  with  their  slowness,  quickening  his 
march  by  theirs,  the  true  representative  of  this  continent; 
an  entirely  public  man;  father  of  his  country,  the  pulse 
of  twenty  millions  throbbing  in  his  heart,  the  thought 
of  their  minds  articulated  by  his  tongue. 


90  AMEEICANIZATION 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  was  Lincoln's  attitude  toward  the  South?  Name 
instances  showing  his  sympathy,  his  innate  kindness  of  heart. 

LINCOLN,  THE  MAN  OF  DESTINY* 
Henry  Watterson 

From  Cseser  to  Bismarck  and  Gladstone  the  world 
has  had  its  statesmen  and  its  soldiers — men  who  rose  to 
eminence  and  power  step  by  step,  through  a  series  of 
geometric  progression,  as  it  were,  each  advancement 
following  in  regular  order  one  after  the  other,  the  whole 
obedient  to  well-established  and  well-understood  laws 
of  cause  and  effect.  They  were  not  what  we  call  "men 
of  destiny.''  They  were  "men  of  the  time."  They 
were  men  whose  careers  had  a  beginning,  a  middle,  and 
an  end,  rounding  off  lives  with  histories,  full  it  may  be  of 
interesting  and  exciting  events,  but  comprehensive  and 
comprehensible,  simple,  clear,  complete. 

The  inspired  ones  are  fewer.  Whence  their  emana- 
tion, where  and  how  they  got  their  power,  by  what  rule 
they  lived,  moved,  and  had  their  being,  we  know  not. 
There  is  no  explication  of  their  lives.  They  rose  from 
shadow  and  they  went  in  mist.  We  see  them,  feel  them, 
but  we  know  them  not.  They  came,  God's  word  upon 
their  lips;  they  did  their  office,  God's  mantle  about  them; 
and  they  vanished,  God's  memory,  half  mortal  and  half 
myth.  From  first  to  last  they  were  the  creations  of 
some  special  Providence,  baffling  the  wit  of  man  to 
fathom,  defeating  the  machinations  of  the  world,  the 
flesh  and  the  devil,  until  their  work  was  done,  then  pass- 

*From  the  oration  on  Lincoln,  first  delivered  before  the  Lincoln 
Union  at  the  Auditorium,  Chicago,  February  12.  1895.  By  courtesy 
of  the  author. 


HENRY  WATTERSON  91 

ing  from  the  scene  as  mysteriously  as  they  had  come 
upon  it. 

Tried  by  this  standard,  wheretshall  we  find  an  example 
so  impressive  as  Abraham  Lincoln?  Born  as  lowly  as 
the  Son  of  God,  in  a  hovel;  reared  in  penury,  squalor, 
with  no  gleam  of  light  or  fair  surrounding;  without 
graces,  actual  or  acquired;  without  name  or  fame  or 
official  training;  it  was  reserved  for  this  strange  being, 
late  in  life,  to  be  snatched  from  obscurity,  raised  to 
supreme  command  at  a  supreme  moment,  and  intrusted 
with  the  destiny  of  a  nation. 

The  great  leaders  of  his  party,  the  most  experienced 
and  accomplished  public  men  of  the  day,  were  made  to 
stand  aside,  were  sent  to  the  rear,  whilst  this  fantastic 
figure  was  led  by  unseen  hands  to  the  front  and  given  the 
reins  of  power.  It  is  immaterial  whether  we  were  for 
him  or  against  him;  wholly  immaterial.  That  during 
four  years,  carrying  with  them  such  a  weight  of  responsi- 
bility as  the  world  never  witnessed  before,  he  filled  the 
vast  space  allotted  him  in  the  eyes  and  actions  of  man- 
kind, is  to  say  that  he  was  inspired  of  God,  for  nowhere 
else  could  he  have  acquired  the  wisdom  and  the  virtue. 

Where  did  Shakespeare  get  his  genius?  Where  did 
Mozart  get  his  music?  Whose  hand  smote  the  lyre  of 
the  Scottish  plowman,  and  stayed  the  life  of  the  German 
priest?  God, .and  God  alone;  and  as  surely  as  these 
were  raised  up  by  God,  inspired  by  God,  was  Abraham 
Lincoln;  and  a  thousand  years  hence,  no  drama,  no 
tragedy,  no  epic  poem,  will  be  filled  with  greater  wonder, 
or  be  followed  by  mankind  with  deeper  feeling  than  that 
which  tells  the  story  of  his  hfe  and  death. 

Questions  and  jdiXERciSES  I 

1.    Who    was    Bismarck?    2.    Gladstone?    3.     For    what 


93  AMERICANIZATION 

was  Burns,  the  Scottish  plowman,  famous?    4.    When  and 
where  did  Luther  the  priest  live? 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
WooDROw  Wilson 

By  popular  subscription,  the  log-cabin  birthplace  of 
Lincoln,  on  a  farm  near  Hodgenville,  Kentucky,  has  been 
enclosed  in  an  imposing  granite  memorial  building  as  a 
gift  to  the  nation.  President  Wilson,  called  upon  to 
accept  the  memorial  gave  this  impressive  interpretation 
of  it: 

No  more  significant  memorial  could  have  been  pre- 
sented to  the  Nation  than  this  which  encloses  the  birth- 
place of  Abraham  Lincoln.  It  expresses  so  much  of 
what  is  singular  and  noteworthy  in  the  history  of  the 
country;  it  suggests  so  many  of  the  things  that  we  prize 
most  highly  in  our  life  and  in  our  system  of  government. 

How  eloquent  this  little  house  within  this  shrine  is  of 
the  vigor  of  democracy!  There  is  nowhere  in  the  land 
any  home  so  remote,  humble,  that  it  may  not  contain 
the  power  of  mind  and  heart  and  conscience  to  which 
nations  yield  and  history  submits  its  processes. 

I  have  come  here  to-day  not  to  utter  a  eulogy  on 
Lincoln;  he  stands  in  need  of  none,  but  to  endeavor  to 
interpret  the  meaning  of  this  gift  to  the  Nation  of  the 
place  of  his  birth  and  origin. 

Is  not  this  an  altar  upon  which  we  may  forever  keep 
alive  the  vestal  fire  of  democracy  as  upon  a  shrine  at 
which  some  of  the  deepest  and  most  sacred  hopes  of 
mankind  may  from  age  to  age  be  rekindled?  For  these 
hopes  must  certainly  be  rekindled,  and  only  those  who 
live  can  rekindle  them. 
I     The  only  stuff  that  can  retain  the  life-giving  heat  is 


FRANKLIN  H.  LANE  93 

the  stuff  of  living  hearts.  And  the  hopes  of  mankind 
cannot  be  kept  alive  by  words  merely,  by  constitutions 
and  doctrines  of  right  and  codes  of  liberty.  The  object 
of  democracy  is  to  transmute  these  into  the  life  and 
action  of  society,  the  self-denial  and  self-sacrifice  of 
heroic  men  and  women  willing  to  make  their  lives  an 
embodiment  of  right  and  service  and  enlightened  purpose. 

The  commands  of  democracy  are  as  imperative  as  its 
privileges  and  opportunities  are  wide  and  generous. 
Its  compulsion  is  upon  us.  It  will  be  great,  and  lift  a 
great  Hght  for  the  guidance  of  the  nations  only  if  we 
are  great  and  carry  that  light  high  for  the  guidance  of  our 
own  feet. 

We  are  not  worthy  to  stand  here  unless  we  ourselves 
be  in  deed  and  in  truth  real  democrats  and  servants  of 
mankind,  ready  to  give  our  very  lives  for  the  freedom 
and  justice  and  spiritual  exaltation  of  the  great  nation 
which  shelters  and  nurtures  us. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  do  you  understand  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  term, 
"democracy"?    2.    Why  is  Lincoln  called  a  democrat? 

LOOKING  THROUGH  LINCOLN'S  EYES* 
Franklin  K.  Lane 

I  never  pass  through  Chicago  without  visiting  the 
statute  of  Lincoln  by  St.  Gaudens  and  standing  before 
it  for  a  moment  uncovered.  It  is  to  me  all  that  America 
is,  physically  and  spiritually.  I  look  at  those  long 
arms  and  long  legs,  large  hands  and  feet,  and  I  think 
that  they  represent  the  physical  strength  of  this  new 
country,    its    power    and    its    youthful    awkwardness. 

*In  Current  Opinion  of  April,  1920.    Used  by  permission. 


94  AMEEICANIZATION" 

Then  I  look  up  at  the  head  and  see  qualities  which  have 
made  the  American — the  strong  chin,  the  noble  brow, 
those  sob^r  and  steadfast  eyes.  They  were  the  eyes 
of  one  who  saw  with  sympathy  and  interpreted  with 
common  sense.  They  were  the  eyes  of  earnest  idealism 
limited  and  checked  by  the  possible  and  the  practicable. 
They  were  the  eyes  of  a  truly  humble  spirit,  whose 
ambition  was  not  a  love  for  power  but  a  desire  to  be 
supremely  useful.  They  were  eyes  of  compassion  and 
mercy  and  a  deep  understanding.  They  saw  far  more 
than  they  looked  at.  They  believed  in  far  more  than 
they  saw.  They  loved  men  not  for  what  they  were 
but  for  what  they  might  become.  They  were  patient 
eyes,  eyes  that  could  wait  and  wait  and  live  on  in  the 
faith  that  right  would  win.  They  were  eyes  which 
challenged  the  nobler  things  in  men  and  brought  out 
the  hidden  largeness.  They  were  humorous  eyes  that 
saw  things  in  their  true  proportions  and  in  their  real 
relationships.  They  looked  through  cant  and  pretense 
and  the  great  and  little  vanities  of  great  and  little  men. 
They  were  the  eyes  of  an  unflinching  courage  and  an 
unfaltering  faith  rising  out  of  a  sincere  dependence 
upon  the  Master  of  the  Universe.  To  believe  in  Lincoln 
is  to  learn  to  look  through  Lincoln's  eyes. 

ROBERT  E.  LEE 
John  W.  Daniel 

At  the  bottom  of  ^rue  heroism  is  unselfishness.  Its 
crowning  expression  is  sacrifice.  The  world  is  suspicious 
of  vaunted  heroes;  but  when  the  true  hero  has  come,  how 
the  hearts  of  men  leap  forth  to  greet  him — how  worship- 
fully  we  welcome  God's  noblest  work — the  strong,  honest, 
fearless,  upright  man. 


ROBERT  E.  LEE 


JOHN  W.  DANIEL  97 

In  Robert  E.  Lee  was  such  a  hero  vouchsafed  to  us 
and  to  mankind,  and  whether  we  behold  him  declining 
command  of  the  Federal  Army  to  fight  the  battles  and  to 
share  the  miseries  of  his  own  people;  proclaiming  on  the 
heights  in  front  of  Gettysburg  that  the  fault  of  the 
disaster  was  his  own;  leading  charges  in  the  crisis  of 
combat;  walking  under  the  yoke  of  conquest  without  a 
murmur  of  complaint;  or  refusing  fortunes  to  go  to 
Washington  and  Lee  University  to  train  the  youth  of  his 
country  in  the  path  of  duty — he  is  ever  the  same  meek, 
grand,  self-sacrificing  spirit.  As  President  of  Washington 
College  he  exhibited  qualities  not  less  worthy  and  heroic 
than  those  displayed  on  the  broad  and  open  theater  of 
conflict,  when  the  eyes  of  nations  watched  his  every 
action.  In  the  calm  repose  of  civic  and  domestic  duties 
and  in  the  trying  routine  of  incessant  tasks,  he  lived  a 
life  as  high  as  when,  day  by  day,  he  marshaled  his  thin 
and  wasting  lines.  In  the  quiet  walks  of  academic  life 
far  removed  from  "war  or  battle's  sound,"  came  into 
view  the  towering  grandeur,  the  massive  splendor,  and 
the  loving  kindness  of  the  character  of  General  Lee,  and 
the  very  sorrows  that  overhung  his  life  seemed  luminous 
with  celestial  hues.  There  he  revealed  in  manifold 
gracious  hospitaUties,  tender  charities,  and  patient 
worthy  counsels  how  deep  and  pure  and  inexhaustible 
were  the  fountains  of  his  virtues.  And  loving  hearts 
delight  to  recall,  as  loving  lips  will  ever  delight  to  tell, 
the  thousand  little  things  he  did  which  sent  forth  lines 
of  light  to  irradiate  the  gloom  of  the  conquered  land  and 
to  lift  up  the  hopes  and  cheer  the  works  of  his  people. 

Come  we  then  to-day  in  loyal  love  to  sanctify  our 
memories,  to  purify  our  hopes,  to  make  strong  all  good 
intent  by  communion  with  the  spirit  of  him  who,  being 
dead,  yet  speaketh.     Let  us  crown  his  tomb  with  the 


98  AMERICANIZATION 

oak,  the  emblem  of  his  strength,  and  with  the  laurel, 
the  emblem  of  his  glory.  And  as  we  seem  to  gaze 
once  more  on  him  we  loved  and  hailed  as  the  chief,  the 
tranquil  face  is  clothed  with  heaven's  light  and  the  mute 
lips  seem  eloquent  with  the  message  that  in  life  he  spoke : 
"There  is  a  true  glory  and  a  true  honor;  the  glory  of 
duty  done,  the  honor  of  the  integrity  of  principle.'' 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Was  Lee  justified  in  espousing  the  cause  of  his  native 
State?  2.  All  things  considered,  which  was  the  gieater  man, 
Lee  or  Grant? 


GENERAL  GRANT 
William  McKinley 

A  great  life  never  dies.  Great  deeds  are  imperishable; 
great  names  immortal.  General  Grant's  services  and 
character  will  continue  undiminished  in  influence  and 
advance  in  the  estimation  of  mankind  so  long  as  liberty 
remains  the  cornerstone  of  free  government  and  integrity 
of  life  the  guaranty  of  good  citizenship. 

Faithful  and  fearless  as  a  volunteer  soldier,  intrepid 
and  invincible  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  of 
the  union,  calm  and  confident  as  president  of  a  reunited 
and  strengthened  nation  which  his  genius  had  been 
instrumental  in  achieving,  he  has  our  homage  and  that 
of  the  world;  but  brilliant  as  was  his  public  character, 
we  love  him  all  the  more  for  his  home  life  and  homely 
virtues.  His  individuality,  his  bearing  and  speech,  his 
simple  ways,  had  a  flavor  of  rare  and  unique  distinction, 
and  his  Americanism  was  so  true  and  uncompromising 
that  his  name  will  stand  for  all  time  as  the  embodiment 
of  liberty,  loyalty,  and  national  unity. 


ULYSSES  S.  GRANT 


WILLIAM  McKINIiEY  lOi 

Victorious  in  the  work  which  under  Divine  Providenpe 
he  was  called  upon  to  do;  clothed  v/ith  alrr-ost  iitnitl&sd^ 
power,  he  was  yet  one  of  the  people — plain,  patient, 
patriotic,  and  just.  Success  did  not  disturb  the  even 
balance  of  his  mind,  while  fame  was  powerless  to  swerve 
him  from  the  path  of  duty.  Great  as  he  was  in  war, 
he  loved  peace,  and  told  the  world  that  honorable  arbi- 
tration of  differences  was  the  best  hope  of  civilization. 

With  Washington  and  Lincoln,  Grant  has  an  exalted 
place  in  history  and  the  affections  of  the  people.  To-day 
his  memory  is  held  in  equal  esteem  by  those  whom  he  led 
to  victory  and  by  those  who  accepted  his  generous  terms 
of  peace.  The  veteran  leaders  of  the  Blue  and  the  Gray 
here  meet  not  only  to  honor  the  name  of  the  departed 
Grant,  but  to  testify  to  the  living  reality  of  a  fraternal 
national  spirit  which  has  .triumphed  over  the  differences 
of  the  past  and  transcends  the  limitations  of  sectional 
lines. 

It  is  right,  then,  that  General  Grant  should  have  a 
memorial  commensurate  with  his  greatness,  and  that 
his  last  resting  place  should  be  the  city  of  his  choice, 
to  which  he  was  so  attached  in  life  and  of  whose  ties  he 
was  not  forgetful  even  in  death.  Fitting,  too,  is  it  that 
the  great  soldier  should  sleep  beside  the  noble  river  on 
whose  banks  he  first  learned  the  art  of  war  and  of  which 
he  became  master  and  leader  without  a  rival. 

New  York  holds  in  its  keeping  the  precious  dust  of  the 
silent  soldier;  but  his  achievements — what  he  and  his 
brave  comrades  wrought  for  mankind — are  in  the  keeping 
of  all  Americans,  who  will  guard  the  sacred  heritage 
forevermore. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  How  did  General  Grant  by  his  act  of  magnanimity  do 
most  to  preserve  the  union? 


102  AMERICANIZATION 

;        ''STONEWALL'^  JACKSON 
'^^  ''^  '  '  Moses  D.  Hoge 

The  day  after  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  and  before 
the  history  of  that  victory  had  reached  Lexington  in 
authentic  form,  a  crowd  had  gathered  around  the  post- 
office  awaiting  with  interest  the  opening  of  the  mail. 
In  its  distribution  the  first  letter  was  handed  to  the 
Rev.  Dr.  White.  Recognizing  at  a  glance  the  well-known 
superscription,  the  doctor  exclaimed  to  those  around  him, 
"Now  we  shall  know  all  the  facts.'' 

The  letter  was  from-  General  Jackson;  but  instead  of 
a  war  bulletin,  it  was  a  simple  note,  inclosing  a  check  for  a 
colored  Sunday-school,  with  an  apology  for  his  delay  in 
not  sending  it  before.  Not  a  word  about  the  conflict 
which  had  electrified  a  nation!  Not  an  allusion  to  the 
splendid  part  he  had  taken  in  it;  not  a  reference  to  him- 
self, beyond  the  fact  that  it  had  been  to  him  a  fatiguing 
day's  service !  And  yet  that  was  the  day  ever  memorable 
in  his  history,  when  he  received  the  name  of  ''Stonewall" 
Jackson. 

When  his  brigade  of  twenty-six  hundred  men  had  for 
hours  withstood  the  iron  tempest  which  broke  upon  it; 
when  the  Confederate  right  had  been  overwhelmed  in  the 
rush  of  resistless  numbers,  General  Bee  rode  up  to  Jack- 
son, and,  with  despairing  bitterness,  exclaimed,  "General, 
they  are  beating  us  back!"  "Then,"  said  Jackson,  calm 
and  curt,  "we  will  give  them  the  bayonet."  Bee  seemed 
to  catch  the  inspiration  of  his  determined  will;  and 
galloping  back  to  the  broken  fragments  of  his  overtaxed 
command,  exclaimed,  "There  is  Jackson,  standing 
like  a  stone  wall.  Rally  behind  him,  Virginians!"  From 
that  time  Jackson's  was  known  as  the  Stonewall  Brigade 
— a  name  henceforth  immortal,  for  the  christening  was 


STONEWALL  JACKSON 


MOSES  D.  HOGE  105 

baptized  in  the  blood  of  its  author;  and  that  wall  of 
brave  hearts  was,  on  every  battlefield,  a  steadfast  bul- 
wark of  their  country. 

In  the  state  where  all  that  is  mortal  of  this  great  hero 
sleeps,  there  is  a  natural  bridge  of  rock,  whose  massive 
arch,  fashioned  in  grandeur  by  the  hand  of  God,  springs 
lightly  toward  the  sky,  spanning  a  chasm  into  whose 
awful  depths  the  beholder  looks  down  bewildered  and 
awe-struck.  But  its  grandeur  is  not  diminished  because 
tender  vines  clamber  over  its  gigantic  piers  and  sweet- 
scented  flowers  nestle  in  its  crevices.  Nor  is  the  granite 
strength  of  Jackson's  character  weakened  because  in 
every  throb  of  his  heart  there  was  a  pulsation  ineffably 
and  exquisitely  tender.  The  hum  of  bees,  the  fragrance 
of  clover  fields,  the  tender  streaks  of  dawn,  the  dewy 
brightness  of  early  spring,  the  mellow  glories  of  matured 
autumn,  all  by  turns  charmed  and  tranquillized  him. 
The  eye  that  flashed  amid  the  smoke  of  battle  grew  soft 
in  contemplating  the  beauty  of  a  flower.  The  ear  that 
thrilled  with  the  thunder  of  the  cannonade  drank  in  with 
innocent  delight  the  song  of  birds  and  the  prattle  of 
cliildren's  voices.  The  voice  whose  sharp  and  ringing 
tones  had  so  often  uttered  the  command,  "Give  them 
the  bayonet,"  called  even  from  foreign  tongues  terms  of 
endearment  for  those  he  loved;  and  the  man  who  filled 
two  hemispheres  with  his  fame  was  never  so  happy  as 
when  he  was  telling  the  colored  children  of  his  Sabbath 
school  the  story  of  the  Cross. 


Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Can  you  cite  examples  of  men  prominent  in  public  life 
to-day  who  either  resemble  or  contrast  sharply  with  the  char- 
acter of  Andrew  Jackson?  2.  Point  out  the  effectiveness  of  the 
antithesis  contained  in  the  last  paragraph. 


106  AMERICANIZATION^ 

THE  TYPICAL  AMERICAN* 
Henry  W.  Grady 

We  hear  a  great  deal  said,  particularly  each  year 
when  the  New  England  societies  meet,  about  the  vir- 
tues of  the  Puritans;  but  we  should  not  forget  the  fact 
that  the  Cavalier  as  well  as  the  Puritan  was  on  the 
continent  in  its  early  days,  and  that  he  was  "up  and 
able  to  be  about." 

Let  me  remind  you  that  the  Virginia  Cavalier  first 
challenged  France  on  this  Continent;  that  Cavalier 
John  Smith  gave  New  England  its  very  name,  and  was 
so  pleased  with  the  job  that  he  has  been  handing  his  own 
name  around  ever  since;  and  that  while  Miles  Standish 
was  cutting  off  men's  ears  for  courting  a  girl  without  her 
parent's  consent,  and  forbade  men  to  kiss  their  wives  on 
Sunday,  the  Cavalier  was  courting  everything  in  sight. 

But  having  said  this  much  for  the  Cavalier,  we  let 
him  work  out  his  own  salvation,  as  he  has  always  done 
with  engaging  gallantry,  and  we  hold  no  controversy  as 
to  his  merits.  Why  should  we?  Neither  Puritan  or 
Cavalier  long  survived  as  such.  The  virtues  and  tradi- 
tions of  both  happily  still  live  for  the  inspiration  of  their 
sons  and  the  saving  of  the  old  fashion.  But  both  Puritan 
and  Cavalier  were  lost  in  the  storm  of  the  first  revolu- 
tion; and  the  American  citizen,  supplanting  both  and 
stronger  than  either,  took  possession  of  the  Republic, 
bought  by  their  common  blood  and  fashioned  to  wis- 
dom, and  charged  himself  with  teaching  men  govern- 

*Taken  from  the  speech  that  first  brought  him  national  fame  as 
an  orator.  Delivered  at  a  dinner  of  the  New  England  Society - 
New  York  City,  December  21,  1886. 

From  The  Orations  and  Speeches  of  Henry  W.  Grady,  by 
E.  D   Shurter.    Used  by  permission. 


E.  D.  SHURTER  107 

ment  and  establishing  the  voice  of  the  people  as  the 
voice  of  God. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  typical  American  has  yet  to 
come.  Let  me  tell  you  that  he  has  already  come. 
Great  types,  like  valuable  plants,  are  slow  to  flower  and 
fruit.  But  from  the  union  of  these  colonists,  Puritans 
and  CavaUers,  from  the  straightening  of  their  purposes 
and  the  crossing  of  their  blood,  slow  perfecting  through 
a  century,  came  he  who  stands  as  the  first  typical  Ameri- 
can, the  first  who  comprehended  within  himself  all  the 
strength  and  gentleness,  all  the  majesty  and  grandeur 
of  this  republic — Abraham  Lincoln.  He  was  the  sum  of 
Puritan  and  Cavalier,  for  in  his  ardent  nature  we  fused 
the  virtues  of  both,  and  in  the  depth  of  his  great  soul 
the  faults  of  both  were  lost.  He  was  greater  than 
Puritan,  greater  than  CavaUer,  in  that  he  was  American; 
and  that  in  his  homely  form  were  first  gathered  the  vast 
and  thrilling  forces  of  his  ideal  government;  charging 
it  with  such  tremendous  meaning  and  so  elevating  it 
above  human  sufferings,  that  martyrdom  though 
infamously  aimed,  came  as  a  fitting  crown  to  a  life 
consecrated  from  the  cradle  to  human  liberty. 

Let  us,  each  cherishing  the  traditions  and  honoring 
his  fathers,  build  with  reverent  hands  to  the  type  of  this 
simple  but  sublime  life  in  which  all  types  are  honored; 
and  in  our  common  glory  as  Americans  there  will  be 
plenty  and  to  spare  for  Puritan  and  Cavalier. 

THE   POTENCY   OF   ROOSEVELT'S    SPIRIT 
E.  D.  Shurter* 

At  midnight  on  the  fifth  day  of  January,  1919,  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt  wrote  a  memorandum  for  the  Chairman 

*Adapted 


108  AMERICANIZATION 

of  the  Republican  National  Committee.  Four  hours 
later,  quietly  in  his  sleep,  the  man  of  many  battles  and 
much  tumult  slipped  out  of  the  company  of  living  men; 
but  with  new  potency  his  spirit  cried  to  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen. 

If  Lincoln  was  the  ''First  American,"  Roosevelt  was 
the  first  American  of  the  past  generation,  and  he  wields 
to-day  an  influence  far  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
character  in  America's  history.  What  was  the  secret 
of  his  power? 

"He  was  found  faithful  over  a  few  things  and  he  was 
made  ruler  over  many;  he  cut  his  own  trail  clean  and 
straight  and  miUions  followed  him  toward  the  light. 
He  was  frail;  he  made  himself  a  tower  of  strength. 
He  was  timid;  he  made  himself  a  lion  of  courage.  He 
was  a  dreamer;  he  became  one  of  the  great  doers  of  all 
time.  Men  put  their  trust  in  him;  found  a  champion  in 
him;  kings  stood  in  awe  of  him,  but  children  made  him 
their  playmate.  He  broke  a  nation's  slumber  with  his 
cry,  and  it  rose  up.  He  touched  the  eyes  of  blind  men 
with  a  flame  that  gave  them  vision.  Souls  became 
swords  through  him;  swords  became  servants  of  God. 
He  was  loyal  to  his  country  and  he  exacted  loyalty;  he 
loved  many  lands,  but  he  loved  his  own  best.  He  was 
terrible  in  battle,  but  tender  to  the  weak;  joyous  and  tire- 
less, being  free  from  self-pity;  clean  with  a  cleanness 
that  cleansed  the  air  like  a  gale.  His  courtesy  knew 
no  wealth,  no  class;  his  friendship,  no  creed  or  color  or 
race.  His  courage  stood  every  onslaught  of  savage  beast 
and  ruthless  man,  of  loneliness,  of  victory,  of  defeat. 
His  mind  was  eager,  his  heart  was  true,  his  body  and 
spirit,  defiant  of  obstacles,  ready  to  meet  what  might 
come.  He  fought  injustice  and  tyranny;  bore  sorrow 
gallantly:  loved  all  nature,  bleak  spaces  and  hardy  com- 


ALBERT  BUSHNELL  HART  109 

panions,  hazardous  adventure  and  the  zest  of  battle. 
Wherever  he  went  he  carried  his  own  pack;  and  in  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  he  kept  his  conscience  for 
.his  guide." 

Above  all,  he  exemplified  by  word  and  deed  the  spirit 
of  an  Americanism  that  will  guide  aright  all  true  Ameri- 
cans of  this  generation,  and  another  and  another. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  are  some  of  the  great  things  that  Theodore  Roose- 
velt did?  2.  Roosevelt  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College. 
What  other  presidents  were  college  men? 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 
AS  A  VITAL  FORCE* 
Albert  Bushnell  Hart 

His  place  was  in  the  seats  of  the  mighty.  No  man  of 
his  time  so  breathed  in  the  breath  of  life  and  so  exhaled 
the  spirit  of  power.  His  was  a  full  heart  and  a  rich 
existence,  for  there  were  as  many  Theodore  Roosevelts 
as  years  of  his  life.  It  was  in  his  bountiful  nature  to  find 
himself  at  one  with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men. 
He  was  at  home  in  the  palace  of  kings — in  those  old  days 
when  kings  were  fashionable — and  equally  in  the  cabin 
of  the  frontier  settler  or  a  dugout  on  a  tropical  river. 
A  multitude  of  men  can  testify  that  he  seemed  to  them 
just  their  kind.  Upon  this  side  of  Roosevelt's  hfe,  upon 
his  ever  fresh  interest  in  his  fellow  men,  posterity  will 
love  to  dwell.  Good  stories  will  be  told  about  him,  as 
about  Lincoln,  concerning  his  adaptation  to  all  sorts  of 
odd  environments.     Those  who  knew  him  best   will 

*Reprinted  from  The  New  York  Times  of  January  12, 1919.  By 
courtesy  of  the  author. 


110  AMERICANIZATION 

most  lovingly  cherish  his  personahty,  as  a  man  and  a 
brother,  his  lovableness,  and  his  warm  affection. 

Beyond  that  personal  side  of  the  character  and  life 
of  the  man  who  has  just  left  us  is  the  massive  figure  of  a 
statesman  of  worldwide  reputation,  a  rock  standing 
immovable  amidst  the  waves,  a  far-sighted,  broad- 
viewed,  sagacious  man,  who  knew  how  to  gather  up  into 
his  mind  a  variety  of  national  problems  and  harmonize 
them  into  one  decision.  This  is  the  time  and  place  to 
consider  the  public  side  of  his  manifold  life,  to  note  how 
far  he  spoke  for  his  countrymen,  to  discover  to  what 
degree  he  was  a  leader  and  an  originator,  and  to  point 
out  his  chief  services  to  the  United  States  of  America. 

Like  all  men  who  are  big  enough  to  make  their  own 
paths  in  life,  he  upraised  many  critics  and  some  enemies. 
All  personal  criticism  falls  away  now  that  he  is  removed. 
His  big,  rugged  honesty  and  sincerity,  the  uprightness  of 
his  public  and  private  life,  his  genuine  and  passionate 
love  for  his  country,  nobody  questions  them!  Yet  in 
some  directions  there  was  always  an  undercurrent  and 
sometimes  a  strong  tide  of  protest  against  him.  In  cer- 
tain circles  of  conservative  men  of  affairs  Theodore 
Roosevelt  was  looked  upon  as  a  dangerous  man;  all  his 
life  long  fighting  against  his  own  people. 

No  public  man  in  the  history  of  the  United  States 
better  illustrated  the  sound  political  sagacity  of  a  public 
man  doing  what  he  thinks  is  right.  If  he  once  has  the 
confidence  of  the  people  they  will  trust  him  even  though 
they  do  not  accept  his  full  program,  even  though  they 
think  he  has  made  some  mistakes. 

No  man  is  perfect  in  wisdom  or  in  act.  The  last  thing 
that  Theodore  Roosevelt's  milHons  of  admirers  will  claim 
for  him  is  that  he  was  an  Olympian,  free  from  the  weak- 
nesses and  prejudices  of  mankind.     He  was  a  man.     He 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 


ALBEET  BUSHNELL  HAET  113 

did  a  man's  work.  He  had  a  brave  and  upright  soul. 
His  best  service  to  his  country,  among  all  his  benefits, 
was  to  base  his  action  on  high  motives.  Throughout  his 
life  he  wanted  to  make  the  world  better,  and  did  what- 
ever came  to  his  hand  to  do. 

As  Police  Commissioner,  Civil  Service  Commissioner, 
as  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Colonel  of  the  Rough 
Riders,  as  Governor  of  New  York,  Vice-President  and 
President,  he  felt  himself  the  trustee  of  the  people. 
Throughout  his  life  he  recognized  the  stern  joy  of  duty 
and  the  delight  of  hitching  his  wagon  to  a  star.  His 
countrymen  may  well  be  proud  of  him,  for  he  drew  them 
to  him  by  calling  out  their  beUef  in  high  things. 

It  was  a  terrible  disappointment  to  him  that,  when  the 
country  needed  every  man  of  power,  there  was  no  place 
for  him  to  serve.  He  said  plaintively,  ''This  war  seems 
very  exclusive."  President  Roosevelt,  as  he  had  oppor- 
tunity, called  upon  the  strongest  men  that  he  could  find; 
and  could  even  put  up  with  those  who  had  not  been 
very  respectful  to  him.  Ex-President  Roosevelt — but 
that  is  now  gone  by!  We  reahze  that  the  body  was  no 
longer  able  to  respond  to  the  fearless  spirit.  We  feel 
that  in  his  death  the  country  loses  a  migtty  force  for 
good.  We  know  that  his  life  and  his  achievements  are 
inscribed  in  imperishable  characters  upon  the  history 
of  the  world  and  the  affectionate  memory  of  his  country. 


\ 


PART  FOUR 
INCENTIVES  TO  PATRIOTISM 


CIVIC  CREEDS* 

In  ancient  Athens,  the  fathers  taught  their  boys  a 
pledge  which,  when  the  boys  where  about  eighteen  years 
of  age,  they  publicly  recited: 

''We  will  never  bring  disgrace  to  this  city  by  any  act 
of  dishonesty  or  cowardice,  nor  ever  desert  our  suffering 
comrades  in  the  ranks. 

"We  will  fight  for  the  ideals  and  sacred  things  of  the 
city,  both  singly  and  together.  We  will  revere  and  obey 
the  city's  laws,  and  do  our  best  to  incite  a  like  respect 
and  reverence  in  those  above  us  who  are  prone  to  annul 
or  set  them  at  naught. 

"We  will  strive  unceasingly  to  quicken  the  public 
sense  of  civic  duty.  Thus  in  all  these*  ways  we  will 
transmit  this  city  not  only  not  less,  but  greater,  better 
and  more  beautiful  than  it  was  transmitted  to  us.'' 

To-day  it  is  as  necessary  that  we  pledge  ourselves  to 
keep  alive  the  ideals  of  honor,  truth,  and  right,  of  bravery 
and  self-sacrifice  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Athens  the 
City-State.  In  those  days  the  cities  were  small  and  the 
citizens  themselves  lived  for  the  most  part  on  their  little 
farms  amid  their  olives  and  their  vines;  to-day  tlie 
tendency  is  toward  crowding  into  the  modern  city  with 
its  narrow  streets  and  its  bad  air,  its  tenements  swarming 
with  ill-nourished  children  whose  only  playground  is  the 
street. 

Farseeing  students  of  our  civic  life  see  that  our  only 
hope  for  a  citizenship  as  sturdy  in  mind  and  body  as 

*Adapted  from  Edwin  O.  Grover's  Creed.  By  permission  of  the 
author. 

117 


118  AMEEICAOTZATION 

that  which  populated  the  United  States  in  revolutionary- 
days  lies  with  the  countrybred  boy  and  girl.  It  is  the 
country  boy's  creed  which  to-day  voices  the  most  whole- 
some spirit  of  to-day.  This  creed,  so  beautifully 
expressed  by  Edwin  Osgood  Grover,  breathes  forth  that 
love  of  the  land  itself  which  is  the  vital  spark  of  true 
patriotism.     In  it  he  says: 

"I  beheve  that  the  country  which  God  "made  is  more 
beautiful  than  the  city  which  man  made;  that  life  out 
of  doors  and  in  touch  with  the  earth  is  the  natural  life 
of  man.  I  believe  that  work  is  work  wherever  we  find 
it,  but  that  work  with  nature  is  more  inspiring  than 
work  with  the  most  intricate  machinery.  I  believe  that 
the  dignity  of  labor  depends  not  on  what  you  do,  but 
on  how  you  do  it;  that  opportunity  comes  to  a  boy  on 
the  farm  as  often  as  to  a  boy  in  the  city,  that  life  is 
larger  and  freer  and  happier  on  the  farm  than  in  the 
town;  that  my  success  depends  not  on  my  location,  but 
upon  myself — not  upon  my  dreams,  but  upon  what  I 
actually  do;  not  upon  luck,  but  upon  pluck.  I  believe 
in  working  when  you  work — and  in  playing  when  you 
play,  and  in  giving  and  demanding  a  square  deal  in 
every  act  of  life." 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    How  can  a  citizen  best  serve  his  city  and  state?    2.    Do 
you  think  that  "life  is  larger  and  freer  and  happier  on  a  farm  than 
in  a  town"?    Why? 

I  AM  AN  AMERICAN* 

I  was  a  pilgrim  seeking  a  place.     I  was  a  Catholic  in 
quest  of  freedom  for  my  faith.     I  was  a  Protestant  flee- 

*Adapted  from  The  Rotarian.    By  permission. 


"THE  ROTARIAN'^  119 

ing  a  persecution  I  could  no  longer  bear.  I  wls  a  Jew, 
an  outcast,  carrying  the  burden  of  centuries  of  unrepose. 
I  was  a  political  Zero  with  no  function  to  serve.  I  was 
a  Mind,  kept  unschooled  lest  knowledge  set  me  free. 
I  was  a  Man,  made  in  the  image  of  my  Creator  as  other 
men  are,  but  bending  low  before  the  power  of  a  fellow 
man. 

And  so  I  left  the  land  of  my  fathers  to  begin  again  in 
a  strange,  wild  land.     I  came  to  America. 

I  did  not  come  to  build  castles.  These  were  the  badge 
of  kings  who  said  that  God  had  appointed  them  to  be 
keepers  of  the  riches  I  produce.  It  was  enough  for  me 
that  I  should  live,  they  said.  I  did  not  believe  that.  I 
began  to  build  a  new  free  tome  in  the  wilderness. 
Patiently  I  induced,  compelled,  the  entrained  soil  to 
share  its  bounty.  I  contended  with  wild  men.  In 
seventy-six  I  fought  and  bled  to  hold  the  winnings  so 
hardly  earned.  In  the  sixties  I  fought  and  bled  again 
to  free  myself  of  Old  World  wrongs  and  keep  the  new 
Nation  whole. 

Thus  I  made  America. 

And  America  made  me — a  new  man,  still  a  Protestant, 
still  a  Catholic,  still  a  Jew,  but  first  an  American.  No 
longer  a  nonentity  but  a  man  bending  only  in  the  volun- 
tary service  of  mankind.  America  has  given  me  Oppor- 
tunity, the  golden  wand  which  has  transformed  me  from 
a  chattel  to  the  peer  of  any  man  on  earth. 

Am  I  great  enough,  strong  enough  to  keep  what  I 
have  made?  Have  I  builded  better  than  I  knew?  Do  I 
realize,  now,  that  America  contains  the  inspiration  and 
the  purifying  principle  for  the  world?  Does  American 
Liberty  mean  anything  in  particular  to  me?  Is  it  more 
than  a  mere  nation  of  people,  conceived  in  the  freedom 
loving  thought  of  a  hundred  nations,  builded  of  human 


130  AMEEICANIZATION 

desperation  and  kept  whole  by  the  will  and  determina- 
tion of  noble  incentive?  Will  I  earnestly  work,  willingly 
give,  and  gladly  sacrifice  to  save  my  America  and  thereby 
save  the  world? 

Yes,  I  will.     And  why?    Because — 

/  am  an  American. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Why  are  castles  the  badge  of  kings?    2.    Why  are  you 
an  American? 


AM  I  A  GOOD  CITIZEN?* 
Meredith  Nicholson 

"Keep  out  of  politics!"  is  a  warning  given  constantly 
to  young  men  who  show  an  inclination  to  interest  them- 
selves in  pubUc  affairs.  The  civic  standard  is  low  in  any 
community  where  a  reputable  citizen  who  seeks  office 
encounters  suspicion,  reproach,  or  obloquy.  The  full 
powers  confided  to  the  people  presuppose  the  participa- 
tion of  all  citizens  in  the  business  of  government. 

Every  citizen  is  *'in"  politics.  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  puts  him  there,  and  his  conscience  grants 
no  exemptions. 

I  have  heard  men  boast  that  they  never  perform  jury 
service,  or  that  they  have  a  ''pull"  that  gains  them  some 
other  immunity.  A  corruptible  public  official  finds  his 
job  unprofitable  unless  he  is  able  to  enter  into  partner- 
ship with  another  bad  citizen. 

If  I  am  more  concerned  with  my  privileges  and 
immunities  than  with  my  duties,  I  am  skidding;  I  am 
on  the  way  to  becoming  a  bad  citizen.     If  I  neglect  to 

*Republished  by  permission  of  the  International  Magazine  Com- 
pany {Cosmopolitan  Magazine).    Copyright  1920. 


i  MEREDITH  NICHOLSON  121 

vote  because  it  is  inconvenient  to  meet  that  obligation, 
or  I  assume  that  my  neighbors  will  protect  me  with  their 
ballots,  I  am  a  dodger  and  a  slacker. 

Blind  confidence  in  government  by  good  luck  is  bound 
to  bring  disaster.  The  constant  vigilance  and  intelligent 
action  of  all  the  people  is  essential  to  enlightened,  cap- 
able government. 

Am  I  a  good  citizen?  is  the  first  question  in  the  Ameri- 
can catechism.  Government  is  a  complex  business,  but 
citizenship  may  be  reduced  to  three  essentials:  under- 
standing, loyalty,  and  service. 

This  morning  I  saw  a  boy  scout  walk  to  the  middle 
of  the  street,  pick  up  a  piece  of  paper,  and  deposit  it  in 
the  Htter-box  at  the  next  comer.  He  didn't  have  to  do 
that;  it  was  my  business  quite  as  much  as  his.  That  lad 
exemplified  the  good  citizenship  that  is  always  on  the 
job. 

In  the  rebuilding  of  the  wall  of  Jerusalem,  every  man 
labored  ''over  against  his  house."  In  like  manner,  an 
American  citizen's  duty  to  his  country  is  immediate 
and  personal,  and  lies  at  his  own  door. 

When  I  say  to  myself,  "I  hold  an  inalienable  partner- 
ship in  this  nation;  its  prosperity  and  happiness  rest 
with  me,"  then  I  have  caught  the  spirit  of  true  Ameri- 
canism. Then  indeed  I  am  a  worthy  citizen  of  this 
mighty  republic  and  a  contributor  to  the  forces  that  make 
for  its  perpetuity. 

THE  IDEAL  REPUBLIC* 
William  J.  Bryan 

For  more  than  a  century  this  nation  has  been  a  world 

*From  his  reply  to  ^he  Notification  Cbmmittee,  August  8, 1900. 
By  courtesy  of  the  author. 


122  AMERICANIZATION 

power.  For  ten  decades  it  has  been  the  most  potent 
influence  in  the  world.  Not  only  has  it  been  a  world 
power  but  it  has  done  more  to  affect  the  politics  of  the 
human  race  than  all  the  other  nations  of  the  world  com- 
bined. Because  our  Declaration  of  Indep'ender.ce  was 
promulgated,  others  have  be'en  promulgated.  Because 
the  patriots  of  1776  fought  for  hberty,  others  have 
fought  for  it;  because  our  Constitution  was  adopted, 
other  constitutions  have  been  adopted.  The  growth  of 
the  principle  of  self-government,  planted  on  American 
soil,  has  been  the  overshadowing  political  fact  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  It  has  made  tliis  nation  conspicuous 
among  the  nations  and  given  it  a  place  in  history  such 
as  no  other  nation  has  ever  enjoyed.  Nothing  has  been 
able  to  check  the  onward  march  of  this  idea.  I  am  not 
willing  that  this  nation  shall  cast  aside  the  omnipotent 
weapon  of  truth  to  seize  again  the  weapon  of  physical 
warfare.  I  would  not  exchange  the  glory  of  this  Repub- 
lic for  the  glory  of  all  the  empires  that  have  risen  and 
fallen  since  time  began. 

I  can  conceive  of  a  national  destiny  surpassing  the 
glories  of  the  present  and  the  past — a  destiny  which 
meets  the  responsibilities  of  to-day  and  measures  up  to 
the  possibilities  of  the  future.  Behold  a  Repubhc  resting 
securely  upon  the  foundation  stones  quarried  by  revolu- 
tionary patriots  from  the  mountain  of  eternal  truth,  a 
Republic  applying  in  practice  and  proclaiming  to  the 
world  the  self-evident  proposition  that  all  men  are 
created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed  with  inalienable 
rights;  that  governments  are  instituted  among  men  to 
secure  these  rights,  and  that  governments  derive  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed.  Behold 
a  Republic  in  which  civil  and  religious  liberty  stimulates 
all  to  earnest  endeavors  and  in  which  the  law  restrains 


WILLIAM  McANDREW  123 

every  hand  uplifted  for  a  neighbor's  injury — a  Republic 
in  which  every  citizen  is  a  sovereign,  but  in  which  no 
one  cares  to  wear  a  crown.  Behold  a  Republic  standing 
erect  while  empires  all  around  are  bowed  beneath  the 
weight  of  their  own  armaments — a  Republic  whose  flag 
is  loved  while  other  flags  are  only  feared.  Behold  a 
Repubhc  increasing  in  population,  in  wealth,  in  strength 
and  in  influence,  solving  the  problems  of  civilization 
and  hastening  the  coming  of  an  universal  brotherhood — 
a  Republic  which  shakes  thrones  and  dissolves  aristocra- 
cies by  its  silent  example  and  gives  light  and  inspiration 
to  those  who  sit  in  darkness.  Behold  a  Republic  gradu- 
ally, but  surely,  becoming  the  supreme  moral  factor  in 
the  world's  progress  and  the  accepted  arbiter  of  the 
world's  disputes — a  Republic  whose  history,  like  the 
path  of  the  just,  *is  as  the  shining  light  that  shineth 
more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 

Questions  and  Answers 

1.  Do  you  agree  with  the  author's  conception  of  an  ideal 
republic?  2.  How  does  Mr.  Bryan  differ  from  President 
Wilson  in  regard  to  international  relations? 

WHY  DOES  THE  NATION  PAY 

FOR  THE  SCHOOLS? 

William  McAndkew 

Every  minute  of  every  school  day  costs  money.  Who 
pays  it?  If  you  should  trace  the  dollars  that  are  spent 
for  buildings,  books  and  teaching,  you  would  find  them 
coming  from  the  public  taxes.  But  everybody  pays  the 
taxes.  The  buyer  of  a  coat,  a  shoe,  a  loaf  of  bread,  pays 
something  more  for  it  because  the  storekeeper  must  pay 
his  rent.     His  rent  costs  him  something  more  because 


134  AMERICANIZATION 

the  owner  of  the  property  must  pay  the  taxes.  You  may 
readily  see  that  the  whole  community,  those  who  own 
no  property,  and  those  who  own  any,  pay  for  the  schools. 

It  is  not  your  father,  alone,  who  paid  for  your  school- 
ing, your  uncle,  your  neighbor,  those  who  know  you  and 
those  who  never  saw  you,  are  taxed  to  provide  the 
money  that  educates  you.  Why?  Because  the  people 
of  America  decided  that  they  would  govern  themselves 
and  that  as  a  people,  united  in  a  government,  they  would 
educate  the  growing  generation  in  the  principles  which 
distinguish  the  American  government  from  the  autocra- 
cies of  the  old  world. 

There  was  education  before  there  was  an  American 
RepubUc.  There  were  schools  before  the  Revolution  of 
'Seventy-Six.  What  was  their  purpose?  Was  it  not  to 
sell  to  their  customers  a  distinction,  a  power,  an  accom- 
pHshment  by  which  each  educated  person  might  get  on 
in  the  world  and  rise  above  the  common  herd?  But 
this  was  not  what  Washington  and  Franklin,  Adams  and 
Jefferson,  and  those  other  founders  of  free  pubHc  schools 
in  America,  set  as  the  purpose.  No  such  aim  can  justify 
taxation  of  all  the  people  to  maintain  a  school  system. 

By  no  means. 

The  American  public  school  is  not  for  the  selfish 
advantage  of  each  separate  boy  and  girl;  it  is  not  to  lift 
them  above  their  fellows.  The  pubHc  school  is  for  the 
general  welfare;  to  produce  citizens  who  will  serve  the 
community  m  peace  as  well  as  in  war,  who  will  give  their 
time  and  their  money  to  public  benefit,  who  will  serve 
on  town  committees,  who  will  make  sacrifices  to  accept 
pubHc  office,  who  will  keep  well  informed  upon  the  public 
needs  and  who  will  create  unselfishness  and  patriotic 
public  opinion. 

These  are  facts  the  schools  must  teach.    These  are 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  125 

duties  the  output  of  the  schools  must  perform.  Other- 
wise the  original  purpose  of  the  American  pubUc  schools 
is  lost. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
Give  further  facts  and  examples  to  show  (1)  why  the  state  is 
justified  in  taxing  the  childless  rich  man  for  the  support  of  the 
public  schools,  and  (2)  what  the  state  may  properly  expect  of 
you  in  the  way  of  pubUc  service. 

A  CHARTER  OF  DEMOCRACY* 

Theodore  Roosevelt 

We  believe  in  pure  democracy.  With  Lincoln,  we  hold 
that  'Hhis  country,  with  its  institutions,  belongs  to  the 
people  who  inhabit  it.  Whenever  they  shall  grow  weary 
of  the  existing  government,  they  can  exercise  their 
constitutional  right  of  amending  it."  We  beUeve  that 
the  people  have  the  right,  the  power,  and  the  duty  to 
protect  themselves  and  their  own  welfare;  that  human 
rights  are  supreme  over  all  other  rights;  that  wealth 
should  be  the  servant,  not  the  master,  of  the  people. 
We  believe  that  unless  representative  government  does 
absolutely  represent  the  people  it  is  not  representative 
government  at  all.  We  test  the  worth  of  all  men  and  all 
measures  by  asking  how  they  contribute  to  the  welfare 
of  the  men,  women,  and  children  of  whom  this  nation 
is  composed.  We  are  engaged  in  one  of  the  great  battles 
of  the  age-long  contest  waged  against  privilege  on  behalf 
of  the  common  welfare. 

This  country,  as  Lincoln  said,  belongs  to  the  people. 
So  do  the  natural  resources  which  make  it  rich.  They 
supply  the  basis  of  our  prosperity  now  and  hereafter. 
In  preserving  them,  which  is  a  national  duty,  we  must 

*From  a  speech  before  the  Ohio  Constitutional  Convention, 
February,  1912. 


126  AMERICANIZATION 

not  forget  that  monopoly  is  based  on  the  control  of 
natural  resources  and  natural  advantages,  and  that  it 
will  help  the  people  little  to  conserve  our  natural  wealth 
unless  the  benefits  which  it  can  yield  are  secured  to  the 
people.  Let  us  remember,  also,  that  conservation  does 
not  stop  with  the  natural  resources,  but  that  the  prin- 
ciple of  making  the  best  use  of  all  we  have  requires  with 
equal  or  greater  insistence  that  we  shall  stop  the  waste 
of  human  life  in  industry  and  prevent  the  waste  of  human 
welfare  which  flows  from  the  unfair  use  of  concentrated 
power  and  wealth  in  the  hands  of  men  whose  eagerness 
for  profit  bUnds  them  to  the  cost  of  what  they  do.  We 
have  no  higher  duty  than  to  promote  the  efficiency  of  the 
individual.  There  is  no  surer  road  to  the  efficiency  of 
the  nation. 

All  constitutions,  those  of  the  States  no  less  than  that 
of  the  nation,  are  designed,  and  must  be  interpreted  and 
administered  so  as  to  fit  human  rights.  Lincoln  so  inter- 
preted and  administered  the  National  Constitution. 
Buchanan  attempted  the  reverse,  attempted  to  fit  human 
rights  to,  and  limit  them  by,  the  Constitution.  It  was 
Buchanan  who  treated  the  courts  as  a  fetish,  who  pro- 
tested against  and  condemned  all  criticism  of  the  judges 
for  unjust  and  unrighteous  decisions,  and  upheld  the 
Constitution  as  an  instrument  for  the  protection  of 
privilege  and  of  vested  wrong.  It  was  Lincoln  who 
appealed  to  the  people  against  the  judges  when  the 
judges  went  wrong,  who  advocated  and  secured  what 
was  practically  the  recall  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision, 
and  who  treated  the  Constitution  as  a  living  force  for 
righteousness.  We  stand  for  applying  the  Constitution 
to  the  issues  of  to-day  as  Lincoln  appHed  it  to  the  issues 
of  his  day;  Lincoln,  mind  you,  and  not  Buchanan,  was 
the  real  upholder  and  preserver  of  the  Constitution,  for 


BLISS  PERRY  127 

the  true  progressive,  the  progressive  of  the  Lincoln 
stamp,  is  the  only  true  constitutionalist,  the  only  real 
conservative  The  object  of  every  American  Constitu- 
tion worth  calling  such  must  be  what  is  set  forth  to  be 
in  the  preamble  of  the  National  Constitution,  'Ho  estab- 
lish justice,"  that  is,  to  secure  justice  as  between  man 
and  man  by  means  of  genuine  popular  self-government. 

Questi6ns  and  Exercises 
1.    What  is  a  "pure  democracy''?    2.    Who  was  James 
Buchanan? 


INTERNATIONAL  PATRIOTISM* 
Bliss  Perry 

The  unpatriotic  man  is  not  the  internationalist;  he  is 
the  citizen  of  any  country  who  does  not  care  what  is 
going  on  beyond  his  own  village  so  long  as  his  own  dinner 
pail  is  full.  If  he  is  an  American,  what  makes  him 
unpatriotic  is  not  that  he  holds  this  or  that  view  in 
regard  to  this  or  that  pohcy;  what  makes  him  unpatriotic 
is  the  belief  that  the  good  father  at  Washington  will 
attend  to  all  that  and  it  is  not  any  business  of  his. 

The  visionaries  are  the  men  who  can  see  nothing  in  the 
world  except  the  chariots  and  the  horses  and  the  future 
campaigns.  The  visionaries  are  the  men  who  have  for- 
gotten their  multiphcation  tables,  and  forgotten  history, 
and  ignored  human  nature,  and  believe  that  it  is  safe  to 
play  with  fire,  who  under  the  pretense  of  taking  no 
chances  are  making  chances;  who  are  doing  as  they  did 
in  Melrose  the  other  day — piling  dynamite  on  a  wagon, 
and  then  giving  the  wagon  to  a  boy  to  drive.  Those,  I 
say,  are  the  unpractical  men.     The  advocates  of  peace 

♦Used  by  courtesy  of  the  author. 


128  AMERICANIZATION 

have  with  a  clear  vision,  with  steady  forethought  and 
purpose,  been  building  a  strait  road  for  the  nations  of  the 
world  to  walk  in,  and  that  road  can  be  seen  by  every 
man. 

Our  foreign  friends  in  making  the  acquaintance  of 
other  Boston  institutions  should  not  fail  to  take  notice 
of  the  Boston  poUceman. 

He  is  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  his  profession;  he 
speaks  softly  and  he  carries  his  ''big  stick" — in  his 
pocket.  He  is  patient,  he  is  respectful,  he  is  self- 
respecting.  Now  when  the  white-gloved  hand  of  a 
policeman  on  one  of  our  dangerous  narrow  crossings  is 
raised,  the  whirling  electric  car  and  the  murderous 
automobile  and  the  laden  dray  stop,  so  that  our  women 
and  children  may  go  safely  over.  We  respect  the  police- 
man, not  because  he  is  the  embodiment  of  arbitrary, 
despotic  force,  but  because  he  represents  the  peace  senti- 
ment of  the  citizens  of  Boston.  Now  we  advocates  of 
peace  are  not  impractical  enough  to  believe  that  the 
time  has  yet  come  when  we  need  no  police  at  the  world's 
cross  roads.  We  do  need  pohcemen  in  Armenia  and  in 
the  Congo  Free  State;  but  we  ask  that  they  shall  not  be 
sent  there  by  greedy  powers  or  through  the  chivalry 
of  a  single  nation.  We  ask  that  they  shall  stand  there 
as  the  embodiment  of  international  law,  and  backed  by 
international  public  opinion. 

We  have  used  the  Boston  policeman  as  a  type;  let  us 
use  the  Boston  subway  as  an  allegory.  A  few  years  ago 
Tremont  Street  was  in  a  state  of  hopeless  confusion — 
turmoil,  blockade,  warfare,  nothing  less.  One  day  some 
one  began  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  from  Tremont  Street 
to  dig  a  hole  in  the  ground.  He  had  the  subway  in  his 
mind — and  to-day  men  are  carried  from  the  suburbs  of 
the  city  to  the  heart  of  the  city  by  a  swift  and  safe  and 


LYMAN  ABBOTT  129 

pleasant  course.  Now  when  you  return  to  your  homes 
you  will  be  able  to  tell  your  friends  that  you  have  been 
riding  in  the  Boston  subway,  and  you  can  also  say  that 
you  have  been  helping  yourself  to  dig  a  bigger  and  a 
better  subway  than  that,  namely,  the  road  that  leads 
straight  from  heart  to  heart  of  the  great  nations  of  the 
world — the  road  of  goodwill.  It  is  hard  to  do  that  kind 
of  digging  year  in  and  year  out.  There  is  the  solid  rock 
of  opposition  still  to  be  blasted.  But  we  must  remember 
that  all  the  poetry  does  not  belong  to  the  men  of  war. 
We  must  praise  this  road  that  we  are  building  against 
the  shifting  sands  of  popular  sentiment,  drifting,  chang- 
ing with  the  hour.  But  the  road  has  already  been  marked, 
and  the  proceedings  of  the  last  five  days  have  given 
another  yard  or  another  hundred  yards  to  it;  and  those 
forward  steps  once  taken  can  never  be  retraced.  We 
have  no  right  to  say,  in  those  solemn  words  that  Tolstoy 
prints  at  the  head  of  his  pamphlet,  ''This  is  your  hour, 
and  the  power  of  darkness."  Perhaps  we  have  not  yet 
won  the  right  to  say,  ''This  is  our  hour,  and  the  power 
of  right,"  but  we  can  at  least  say  with  St.  Paul,  "Breth- 
ren, now  is  our  salvation  nearer  than  when  we  first 
beUeved." 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Where   is   Armenia?     How   is  it  governed?    2.    Who 
owns  the  Congo  district?         Who  was  Tolstoy? 

THE  LAW  OF  SERVICE* 

Lyman  Abbott 

Service  is  the  law  of  life.    There  is  no  such  thing  as 
independence.    For  the  coffee  that  you  drank  this  morn- 

*Extract  from  the  Baccalaureate  Sermon  at  the  University  of 
Texas,  June  17,  1900.    Used  by  courtesy  of  the  author. 


130  AMERICANIZATION 

ing  at  breakfast  the  berries  were  probably  picked  in 
Mexico  or  in  South  America;  then  they  were  brought 
here  by  the  steamship  or  the  railroads,  then  handled  by 
the  merchant  and  then  prepared  for  the  table.  Some 
one  raised  the  wheat  in  Minnesota,  some  one  else  ground 
it  in  Minneapolis,  some  one  else  brought  it  here,  some 
one  else  cooked  it.  How  many  men  were  employed 
simply  in  getting  for  us  our  breakfast!  We  are  depen- 
dent not  only  on  the  present,  but  on  all  the  past.  How 
many  broken  hearts,  how  many  disappointed  ambitions, 
how  many  abandoned  hopes  before  the  locomotive  was 
perfected  which  may  take  you  to  your  homes  to-morrow! 
Can  you  go  to  the  grave  and  pay  the  dead?  Can  you 
pay  for  what  the  past  has  done  for  you?  You  can  only 
pass  on  to  the  future  some  service  in  acknowledgment 
of  that  which  the  past  has  rendered  you. 

There  are  only  four  ways  in  which  a  man  can  get  any- 
thing in  this  world.  He  can  make  it  by  his  own  indus- 
try; he  can  receive  it  as  a  gift;  he  can  filch  it  from  some- 
body else;  he  can  contrive  to  take  it  out  of  the  common 
stock  which  God  meant  for  his  children.  Now,  of  these 
four  ways  there  is  only  one  way  that  is  honest  and  self- 
respecting  for  a  man  with  bodily  vigor  and  intellectual 
ability,  and  that  is  to  make  it  by  his  honest  industry. 

In  Cuba  seven  hundred  men,  women  and  children 
died  each  week  before  General  Wood  established  an 
order  requiring  the  citizens  to  clean  house.  They  did 
not  want  to  do  so,  but  they  were  compelled,  and  as  a 
result  of  the  cleaning  the  mortahty  has  been  reduced 
from  seven  hundred  to  fifty  or  sixty  per  week.  Six  hun- 
dred and  forty  died  every  week  before  their  time  because 
the  citizens  did  not  wish  cleanliness.  But  it  was  just 
to  compel  them  to  do  what  they  did  not  consent  to  do, 


WOODROW  WILSON         .  131 

and  so  save  the  lives  of  six  hundred  and  forty  without 
the  consent  of  the  governed. 

This  which  is  the  law  for  the  regulation  of  the  nation 
in  its  international  relations  is  the  law  for  its  regulation 
within  itself;  by  it  must  be  determined  all  questions  of 
local  administration.  Mr.  Croker,  upon  the  witness 
stand  in  New  York,  is  asked  the  question,  ''Mr.  Croker, 
you  are  in  politics  for  what  you  can  get  out  of  it?"  and 
replies,  "Yes,  sir;  all  day,  and  every  day  in  the  week." 
This  is  the  answer  of  a  boss.  Men  say,  we  must  have 
leaders  in  politics.  Certainly  we  must.  But  what  we 
must  have,  is  not  a  man  who  is  in  politics  for  what  he 
can  get  out  of.it  all  day  and  every  day  in  the  week;  he  is 
not  a  leader,  he  is  a  boss.  The  leader  walks  in  front  of 
the  procession  and  the  others  follow  voluntarily;  the 
boss  walks  behind  with  the  whip.  Leadership  and  boss- 
ism  are  absolutely  inconsistent.  I  call  on  you  solemnly 
to  swear  before  God  and  your  flag  that  so  far  as  you, can 
help  it  there  shall  never  be  in  your  country  a  government 
of  the  boss,  by  the  boss,  and  for  the  boss,  but  that  it 
shall  be  a  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and 
for  the  people. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  does  Dr.  Abbott  mean  when  he  says  that  "Service 
is  the  law  of  life"?    2.    Why  are  leadership  and  bossism  incon- 
sistent? 

AMERICA  A  WORLD  POWER* 
WooDROw  Wilson 
America  may  be  said  to  have  just  received  her  majority 
as  a  world  power.     It  was  almost  exactly  twenty-one 

*The  concluding  part  of  a  speech  before  the  Senate,  July  10, 
1919. 


132  AMERICANIZATION 

years  ago  that  the  results  of  the  war  with  Spam  put  us 
unexpectedly  in  possession  of  rich  islands  on  the  other 
side  of  the  world  and  brought  us  into  association  with 
other  governments  in  the  control  of  the  West  Indies. 
It  was  regarded  as  a  sinister  and  ominous  thing  by  the 
statesmen  of  more  than  one  European  chancellory  that 
we  should  have  extended  our  power  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  our  continental  dominions.  They  were  accus- 
tomed to  think  of  new  neighbors  as  a  new  menace,  of 
rivals  as  watchful  enemies.  There  were  persons  among 
us  at  home  who  looked  with  deep  disapproval  and 
avowed  anxiety  on  such  extensions  of  our  national 
authority  over  distant  islands  and  over  peoples  whom 
they  feared  we  might  exploit,  not  serve  and  assist. 
But  we  have  not  exploited  them.  We  have  been  their 
friends  and  have  sought  to  serve  them.  And  our  domin- 
ion has  been  a  menace  to  no  other  nation.  We  redeemed 
our  honor  to  the  utmost  in  our  deahngs  with  Cuba. 
She  is  weak,  but  absolutely  free;  and  it  is  her  trust  in  us 
that  makes  her  free.  Weak  peoples  everywhere  stand 
ready  to  give  us  any  authority  among  them  that  will 
assure  them  a  like  friendly  oversight  and  direction. 
They  know  that  there  is  no  ground  for  fear  in  receiving 
us  as  their  mentors  and  guides. 

Our  isolation  was  ended  twenty  years  ago;  and  now 
fear  of  us  is  ended  also,  our  counsel  and  association 
sought  after  and  desired.  There  can  be  no  question 
of  our  increasing  to  be  a  world  power.  The  only  question 
is  whether  we  can  refuse  the  moral  leadership  that  is 
offered  us,  whether  we  shall  accept  or  reject  the  confi- 
dence of  the  world. 

The  war  and  the  conference  of  peace  now  sitting  in 
Paris  seem  to  me  to  have  answered  that  question.  Our 
participation  in  the  war  established  out  position  among 


WOODROW  WILSON  133 

the  nations,  and  nothing  but  our  own  mistaken  action 
can  alter  it.  It  was  not  an  accident  or  a  matter  of  sud- 
den choice  that  we  are  no  longer  isolated  and  devoted 
to  a  policy  which  has  only  our  own  interest  and  advan- 
tage for  its  object.  It  was  our  duty  to  go  in,  if  we  were 
indeed  the  champions  of  liberty  and  of  right. 

We  answered  to  the  call  of  duty  in  a  way  so  spirited, 
so  utterly  without  thought  of  what  we  spent  of  blood  or 
treasure,  so  effective,  so  worthy  of  the  admiration  of 
true  men  everywhere,  so  wrought  out  of  the  stuff  of  all 
that  was  heroic,  that  the  whole  world  saw  at  last,  in  the 
flesh,  in  noble  action,  a  great  ideal  asserted  and  vindi- 
cated, by  a  nation  they  had  deemed  material  and  now 
found  to  be  compact  of  the  spiritual  forces  that  free  men 
of  every  nation  from  every  unworthy  bondage.  It  is 
thus  that  a  new  role  and  a  new  responsibility  haVe  come 
to  this  great  nation  that  we  honor  and  which  we  would 
all  wish  to  lift  to  yet  higher  levels  and  service  and  achieve- 
ment. 

The  stage  is  set,  the  destiny  disclosed.  It  has  come 
about  by  no  plan  of  our  conceiving,  but  by  the  hand  of 
God,  who  Jed  us  into  this  way.  We  can  not  turn  back, 
we  can  only  go  forward,  with  lifted  eyes  and  freshened 
spirit,  to  follow  the  vision.  It  was  of  this  that  we 
dreamed  at  our  birth.  America  shall  in  truth  show  the 
way.  The  light  streams  upon  the  path  ahead,  and 
nowhere  else. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  has  America  done  with  the  colonies  captured  from 
Spain  in  1898?  2.  Compare  the  number  of  American  troops 
engaged  in  the  Spanish- American  War  with  the  number  sent  to 
fight  Germany. 


134  AMEEICANIZATION 

AMERICAN  CITIZENSHIP* 
Daniel  Webster 

We  have  indulged  in  gratifying  recollections  of  the 
past,  in  the  prosperity  and  pleasures  of  the  present,  and 
in  high  hopes  for  the  future.  But  let  us  remember  that 
we  have  duties  and  obligations  to  perform  corresponding 
to  the  blessing  which  we  enjoy.  Let  us  remember  the 
trust,  the  sacred  trust,  attaching  to  the  rich  inheritance 
which  we  have  received  from  our  fathers.  Let  us  feel 
our  personal  responsibility  to  the  full  extent  of  our  power 
and  influence,  for  the  preservation  of  the  principles  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  And  let  us  remember  that  it  is 
only  religion  and  morals,  and  knowledge,  that  can  make 
men  respectable  and  happy,  under  any  form  of  govern- 
ment. Let  us  hold  fast  the  great  truth,  that  communi- 
ties are  responsible  as  well  as  individuals;  that  no  govern- 
ment is  respectable  which  is  not  just;  that  without 
unspotted  purity  of  public  faith,  without  sacred  public 
principle,  fidelity,  and  honor,  no  mere  forms  of  govern- 
ment, no  machinery  of  laws,  can  give  dignity  to  political 
society.  In  our  day  and  generation,  let  us  seek  to  raise 
and  improve  the  moral  sentiment,  so  that  we  may  look, 
not  for  a  degraded,  but  for  an  elevated  and  improved 
future.  And  when  both  we  and  our  children  shall  have 
been  consigned  to  the  house  appointed  for  all  living, 
may  love  of  country,  and  pride  of  coimtry,  glow  with 
equal  fervor  among  those  to  whom  our  names  and  our 
blood  shall  have  descended. 

And  then,  when  honored  and  decrepit  age  shall  lean 
against  the  base  of  this  monument,  and  troops  of  ingenu- 
ous youth  shall  be  gathered  around  it,  and  when  the  one 
shall  speak  to  the  other  of  its  objects,  the  purposes  of  its 

*From  the  Bunker  Hill  Oration. 


PHILANDEK  P.  CLAXTON"  135 

construction,  and  the  great  and  glorious  events  with 
which  it  is  connected,  then  shall  rise  from  every  youthful 
breast  the  ejaculation,  ^ Thank  God,  I — I  also — am  an 
American!" 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Who  was  Daniel  Webster?    2.    What  is  the  inheritance 
which  we  have  received  from  our  fathers?    3.     What  historical 
event  does  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  commemorate? 


DEMOCRACY  IN  EDUCATION* 
Philander  P.  Claxton 

If  democracy  has  any  valuable  and  ultimate  meaning 
it  is  equality  of  opportunity.  But  there  can  be  no 
equality  of  opportunity  without  equality  of  opportunity 
in  education.  If  to  any  child  this  is  denied  and  it  is 
permitted  to  grow  to  manhood  o'r  womanhood  without 
that  education  which  prepares  it  for  good  living,  for  the  \ 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  citizenship,  and  for  making  I 
an  honest  living  by  some  intelligent,  useful  occupation, 
then  there  is  nothing  which  individual  or  society  can  do, 
nothing  which  man  or  God  can  do,  to  make  good  the  loss. 
More  than  ever  before  are  we  begihning  to  understand 
that  material  progress,  social  purity,  civic  righteousness, 
political  stability  and  strength,  and  the  possibilities  of  \ 
culture  and  the  attainment  of  higher  ideals,  all  depend 
on  the  right  education  of  all  the  people.  If  any  man  or 
woman  follows  his  or  her  trade  or  profession  with  less 
intelHgence  and  skill  than  he  or  she  might,  the  total 
amount  of  wealth  produced  is  less  than  it  might  be. 
If   any  lack  knowledge  of  fundamental  principles  of 

*From  the  Report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Educa- 
tion, 1915. 


136  AMEEICANIZATION 

government  and  institutional  life  necessary  for  intel- 
ligent citizenship  in  our  democracy,  the  civic  and  poUtical 
life  of  city,  state,  and  nation  is  affected  thereby.  If  the 
health,  the  culture,  or  the  moral  education  of  any  has 
been  neglected,  all  society  and  each  of  its  members  must 
suffer  as  a  result.  If  any,  through  wrong  education  or 
the  inculcation  of  false  ideals,  work  at  occupations  for 
which  they  are  not  fitted  or  in  which  they  may  not  serve 
themselves  and  society  as  well  as  they  might  in  other 
ways,  their  own  lives  and  the  lives  of  us  all  are  less  full 
and  satisfactory  than  they  might  otherwise  be.  We  are 
bound  up  in  the  sheaf  of  life  together,  and  our  interests 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  and  from  the  highest  to 
the  lowest  are  inextricably  interwoven.  Therefore  the 
liberal  use  of  public  funds  for  the  support  of  schools  and 
other  agencies  of  education  is  more  and  more  clearly 
recognized  as  good  business,  and  careful  thinking  and 
planning  for  the  fullest  and  best  education  of  all  the 
children  of  all  the  people  as  the  highest  duty  of  citizen- 
ship. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  do  we  mean  by  "equality  of  opportunity"? — 
2.  How  does  education  prepare  us  for  the  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities of  citizenship? 

AMERICANS  FOR  AMERICA 
Laurette  Taylor 

America  has  always  been  of  complex  population;  it 
always  will  be,  and  should  be.  The  six  white  bars  of 
the  flag  represent  the  six  different  racial  stocks  who 
battled  for  freedom  against  a  German  monarch  and 

*From  The  Delineator  for  November,  1918.  Used  by  permission. 


LAURETTE  TAYLOR  137 

his  Hessian  guardsmen  in  1776.  It  is  in  our  complexity 
of  inheritance  that  America  is  truly  great,  verily  the 
Land  of  the  Free.  Our  nation  was  born,  and  has  been 
reborn  and  reborn  again  in  its  immigrants.  Thank  God 
for  them.  But  God  forbid  that  the  great  principles 
on  which  the  Union  stands  should  ever  be  re-shaped  or 
replaced  by  other  principles;  that  our  noble  traditions 
should  be  warped  by  traditions  of  other  lands;  or  that 
our  culture  and  beliefs  should  give  way  to  ahen  modes 
of  thought  and  beliefs  bom  of  life  in  Europe  which  are 
false  to  the  life  of  what  is  really  America. 

Aliens  in  our  midst  should  not  blame  American  ideals 
and  methods  of  government  for  evils  which  they  have 
brought  with  them  to  our  shores.  It  is  true  that  the 
alien  has  suffered  from  industrial  exploitation;  but  it 
is  also  true  that  he  has  been  exploited,  not  by  Ameri- 
cans, but  by  men  of  his  own  blood.  The  everlasting 
agitators,  and  a  certain  type  of  sophomoric  highbrow, 
mouth  loudly  and  continually  of  "Democracy."  Pity 
is  that  the  ignorant  and  the  self-seeking  unite  so  fre- 
quently to  follow  such  leadership. 

The  United  States  is  founded  on  freedom  to  worship 
God  as  each  man  will,  and  on  a  perpetual  guarantee  to 
each  and  every  man  of  the  right  to  live,  to  enjoy  liberty, 
and  to  pursue  happiness.  I  wonder  how  many  of  those 
who  find  so  much  fault  with  this  country  and  its  system 
of  government  have  ever  stopped  to  analyze  what  these 
precious  guerdons  of  our  freedom  really  mean?  I  won- 
der if,  in  the  light  of  an  hour's  quiet  thought  about  only 
a  few  of  our  great  national  privileges,  they  would  howl 
so  much  against  our  institutions,  or  demand  in  such 
unthinking  terms  an  unqualified  democracy?  I  wonder 
if  they  really  know  the  sacred  principles  of  Americanism 
or  if  they  are  too  careless,  too  ignorant  of  history  on  both 


138  AMEEICANIZATION 

sides  of  the  Atlantic,  to  treasure  at  their  value,  and  to 
defend  against  every  enemy,  these  priceless  heritages  of 
America? 

Or,  if  they  are  citizens,  and  have  not  sufficient  apprecia- 
tion of  the  responsibilities  of  their  citizenship,  let  them 
learn  one  lesson,  the  greatest,  I  think,  of  all  the  great 
lessons  that  our  country  teaches  us.     It  is  this : 

The  government  of  these  United  States  was  set  up, 
and  exists,  and  derives  its  just  powers  from  the  consent 
of  the  people  it  governs.  It  is  so  organized,  and  so 
balanced  with  great  care,  as  to  secure  by  law  to  every 
person  his  inalienable  rights.  Therefore  it  is  a  democ- 
racy. But,  besides  doing  all  this,  our  system  of  govern- 
ment, not  content  with  protecting  our  people  under  its 
laws,  is  also  equipped  with  safeguards  to  prevent  injus- 
tice by  law.  If  mob  spirit  should  lead  a  majority  to 
enact  unjust  laws,  in  the  final  analysis  our  highest 
tribunal  of  justice  stands  between  those  unjust  laws  and 
the  man  or  woman  who,  without  this  check  on  the 
popular  will  of  the  many,  might  suffer  from  them. 

A  democracy — yes,  but  not  a  democracy  like  that  of 
Danton  and  Robespierre,  which  bathed  France  with 
blood;  or  that  of  Lenine  and  Trotsky,  which  has  given 
Russia  temporarily  to  the  dogs  of  fate — the  United 
States  is  a  democracy  which  recognizes  that  there  are 
eternal  principles  of  right  and  justice  against  which  its 
own  self-willed  wrong  or  injustice  must  not  be  permitted 
to  prevail — a  democracy  which  acknowledges,  as  those 
other  two  would  not,  that  above  its  own  will  stands  the 
infinitely  greater  authority  of  Right,  and  the  infinite 
principles  of  God  Himself. 

Let  us  not  wander  in  quest  of  false  ideals  or  give  ear  to 
empty  heroics  and  loud  imaginings. 

Do  not  mistake  the  rabid  vibrations  of  demagogues 


WILL  H.  HAYS  139 

and  experimentalists  for  the  heart-beat  of  the  American 
nation.  That  great,  steady  pulse  throbs  strong,  sturdy, 
true.  When  we  need  guidance  in  Americanism — in  the 
kind  of  Americanism  in  which  our  nation  was  conceived 
and  born,  and  has  grown  great — let  us  follow  our  own 
great  law-givers:  Washington,  Hamilton,  Jefferson, 
Webster,  Calhoun,  Lincoln. 

God  makes  no  man  a  slave,  no  doubter  free; 
Abiding  faith  alone  wins  liberty. 

Let  us  have  faith  in  the  eternal  principles  of  Ameri- 
canism, and  our  example,  not  less  than  our  good  sword, 
will  make  this  world  a  decent  place  to  live  in. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Explain  the  allusion  in  the  second  sentence  of  the  first 
paragraph.    2.    How  have  aliens  in  America  been  exploited? 
3.    Who  was  Danton?    Robespierre? 


EQUALITY  OF  OPPORTUNITY* 
Will  H.  Hays 

Let  all  well-wishers  of  good  government,  regardless 
of  party  affiliations — let  all  those  who  love  their  country 
and  its  institutions  listen  for  a  moment,  listen  with  eyes 
aloft,  listen  to  the  voice  of  experience  and  the  call  of 
inspiration  from  the  spirit  of  America  which  was  Wash- 
ington and  Lincoln  and  Roosevelt — listen  and  hear  from 
them  the  call:  Carry  on,  Americans!  Carry  on! 
Carry  on!  Carry  on,  now,  against  the  foes  of  our  own 
household  as  you  fought  at  Valley  Forge,  at  the  Argonne 
and  at  Chateau-Thierry.     Carry  on!    Carry  on!    Find 

*Reprinted  from  The  Saturday  Evening  Post,  May  8,  1920.  Copy- 
righted, 1920,  by  the  Curtis  Publishing  Company,  Philadelphia. 


140  AMEEICANIZATION 

disloyalty  if  there  be  disloyalty,  and  scotch  it;  find 
dishonesty  if  there  be  dishonesty,  and  crush  it;  find  the 
right,  and  cleave  unto  it.  Keep  your  eyes  raised, 
Americans,  but  keep  your  feet  on  solid  ground! 

Find  the  reason  for  discontent,  and  meet  it  squarely; 
correct  the  cause  where  there  is  a  cause,  and  mercilessly 
destroy  the  excuse  where  it  is  an  excuse  only.  Find 
exact  justice  and  demand  it — demand  it  for  all  men  and 
require  it  from  all  men.  Remember  the  stuff  you  are 
made  of,  Americans.  Remember  the  heritage  which  is 
yours.  Remember — and  be  encouraged.  The  manhood 
and  womanhood  of  America  are  sound.  The  stress  of 
late  days  has  strained  all  overmuch. 

Be  patient  with  one  another,  but  as  you  value  your 
country's  future  wait  not  a  moment  to  realize  the 
emergency,  nor  longer  delay  your  action.  Each  one  is 
equally  responsible.  Stop  and  look  within.  Look,  each 
one,  to  your  own  industry  and  thrift.  Look  to  your  own 
conscience  and  moral  responsibility,  and  in  the  whirl  of 
the  storm  about  you  seize  upon  common  sense  and  good 
conscience.  Holding  fast,  then,  lift  yourselves  from  the 
maelstrom  of  unrest  and  regain  for  yourselves  your  own 
sound  judgment — ^and  then  reach  for  others  as  they  are 
hurled  by. 

Yes,  forget  not  the  others  who  are  about  you.  It  is  as 
dangerous  now  as  it  was  just  outside  the  walls  of  Eden 
to  ask  in  surprise:  "Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?" 
Remember,  we  all  go  up  or  we  all  go  down  together. 
The  great  power  which  is  the  spirit  of  America  must  not 
tolerate  any  attempt  to  array  group  against  group, 
section  against  section  or  sect  against  sect.  Guard 
against  this  as  you  would  against  a  pestilence;  the  nation 
has  no  greater  enemy  than  one  who  would  thus  divide 
the  country  against  itself. 


ALBEET  SHIELS  141 

While  you  are  in  turmoil  our  late  enemies  are  marshal- 
ing with  dispatch  all  of  their  industrial  resources,  so  let 
not  our  great  accomplishments  in  war  be  marred  by  our 
inability  to  order  our  own  affairs.  Mere  agitation  and 
mere  motion  are  not  progress.  The  vicious  circle  is  not 
the  shortest  distance  between  honest  effort  and  highest 
reward.  Remember  that  one  man  is  better  than  another 
only  when  he  does  better.  Give  all  well-behaved  men 
and  women  their  equality  of  opportunity,  and  require 
from  them  their  full  measure  of  accountability.  Live 
and  let  live  is  not  enough — we  must  live  and  help  live — 
and,  as  you  live  and  help  live,  find  always  exact  justice 
and  enforce  it. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  are  the  important  facts  to  be  remembered  about 
Valley  Forge?    2.    Who  was  it  who  said:  "Am  I  my  brother's 
keeper"? 

EQUAL  JUSTICE  AND  OPPORTUNITY* 

Albert  Shiels 

The  principles  of  democracy  are  equal  justice  and  equal 
opportunity  for  all  men  of  all  degree.  The  people  do  not 
themselves  legislate,  judge,  execute.  For  one  hundred 
millions  this  would  mean  chaos.  But  they  are  free  to 
elect  directly  or  indirectly,  as  they  may  decide,  their 
legislators,  judges  and  executives. 

In  a  more  profound  sense,  ours  is  a  democracy  of  the 
people.  The  character  of  the  people  must  decide  the 
character  of  the  government,  just  as  it  decides  the 
character  of  the  nation.    The  form  of  our  government  is 

♦Extract  from  a  series  of  articles  entitled  Americanization.  Used 
by  permission  of  the  author. 


142  AMERICANIZATION 

near  perfection.  Eu^  the  form  in  itself  guarantees 
nothing.  The  people  determine  wisely  and  honestly- 
only  if  they  are  themselves  wise  and  honest. 

The  government  will  be  a  good  government  if  those 
who  own  it  love  it  and  work  for  it,  and  if  they  labor  to 
make  their  fellows  love  it  and  work  for  it.  It  can  be 
made  a  poor  government.  Then  the  fault  lies  where  it 
belongs.  No  one  man  in  this  democracy  can  wrap  his 
toga  about  him  and  stalk  away  saying,  ''I  have  done  my 
duty,  let  others  do  what  they  will."  He  is  in  the  same 
boat  with  the  rest,  and  he  cannot  save  himself  alone. 
Not  only  must  he  be  a  good  citizen,  but  he  must  make 
the  other  one  as  good  as  he,  or  he  goes  down  with  him. 
That  is  Americanization — making  yourself  and  every 
other  one  you  can  worthy  of  America. 

We  are  so  much  stronger,  so  much  happier,  so  much 
better  placed  to-day  than  any  other  nation  of  the  world, 
that  even  with  all  the  faults  we  have,  democracy  stands 
triumphant.  These  things  we  owe  to  the  wealth  of  the 
land,  to  the  sturdy  spirits  that  moved  our  frontiers  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Western  ocean,  to  the  wisdom  of 
the  fathers,  to  the  form  of  government  we  enjoy.  As 
we  become  better  Americans  we  shall  learn  not  only  our 
duty  to  the  future  but  our  obligation  to  the  past.  And 
the  foreigners  who  wish  to  be  good  citizens  must  share  the 
lessons  with  us. 

When  our  shops  and  factories  are  open  for  instruction 
for  the  illiterate  and  non-English  speaking  foreigner, 
when  our  schools  no  longer  figure  as  wearisome  incursions 
on  the  taxpayer,  but  rather  as  a  splendid  investment  to 
make  a  better  nation;  when  men  and  women,  employers 
and  employees,  meet  in  constant  conference  to  discuss 
their  problems;  when  strikes  and  lockouts  will  be  looked 


ALBERT  SHIELS  143 

upon  as  only  the  most  remote,  unscientific  methods  of 
solution;  when  forums  are  established,  and  men  and 
women,  thoughtless  of  class  distinction,  will  join  in  their 
communities  to  make  a  better  city;  when  civic  duty 
will  not  be  a  single  annual  vote  at  the  ballot  box,  but  a 
constant  theme  for  unselfish  thinking  and  unselfish  labor, 
we  shall  all  be  in  a  fair  way  toward  a  real  program  of 
Americanization. 

All  this  seems  an  extravagant  picture,  yet  every  feature 
of  it  is  being  done  somewhere,  while  nowhere  are  all  these 
features  organized  into  one  composite  whole.  When 
that  day  comes  there  will  be  little  room  for  the  advance 
agent  of  professional  discontent.  He  will  not  be  abused; 
he  will  be  laughed  out  of  his  corner  pulpit. 

All  these  manifold  activities  will  be  developed  as  they 
become  worth  while.  Every  American  wants  the  safety 
of  his  own  property  and  the  security  of  his  own  person 
assured.  He  wants  industry  to  be  profitable,  whether 
he  is  employer  or  wage-earner.  He  wants  opportunity 
for  leisure  and  facilities  for  its  enjoyment.  He  wants 
efficient  government  and  honest  administration.  He 
has  come  to  think  that  it  is  hard  to  have  them  together 
so  he  feels  he  must  grab  to  get  his  share.  Yet,  if  he  and 
every  one  else  could  enjoy  them  together,  he  would  be 
happy.  He  would  even  go  further,  and  pay  a  consider- 
able premium  to  insure  their  possession  for  everybody. 
Yet  these  things  are  possible — possible  if  every  one  would 
work  together  to  get  them.  The  premium  to  be  paid  is 
not  money,  but  time,  labor  and  unselfish  public  interest. 
To  have  this  faith,  to  back  it  up  by  works,  to  labor  for  its 
consummation  among  foreigners  and  native  born,  is  real 
Americanism. 


144  AMERICANIZATION 

THE  DUTY  AND  VALUE  OF  PATRIOTISM 

ARCHBISHOP  JOHN  IRELAND 

The  human  race  pays  homage  to  patriotism  because 
of  its  supreme  value.  The  value  of  patriotism  to  a 
people  is  above  gold  and  precious  stones,  above  com- 
merce and  industry,  above  citadels  and  warships. 
Patriotism  is  the  vital  spark  of  the  nation's  honor,  the 
living  joint  of  the  nation's  prosperity,  the  strong  shield 
of  the  nation's  safety. 

When  the  fathers  of  the  RepubUc  declared:  ''That  all 
men  are  created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights;  that  among 
these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,"  a 
principle  was  enunciated  which,  in  its  truth,  was  as  old 
as  the  race,  but  in  practical  realization  was  almost 
unknown. 

The  divine  gift  of  liberty  is  God's  recognition  of  man's 
greatness  and  man's  dignity.  In  Hberty  lie  the  sweetness 
of  life  and  the  power  of  growth.  The  loss  of  liberty  is  the 
loss  of  light  and  sunshine,  the  loss  of  life's  best  portion. 
Under  the  spell  of  heavenly  memories,  humanity  never 
has  ceased  to  dream  of  liberty,  and  to  aspire  to  its  pos- 
session. Now  and  then,  here  and  there,  liberty  had 
for  a  moment  caressed  humanity's  brow.  But  not  until 
the  Republic  of  the  West  was  born,  not  until  the  Star- 
Spangled  Banner  rose  toward  the  skies,  was  liberty 
caught  up  in  humanity's  embrace  and  embodied  in  a 
great  and  abiding  nation. 

In  America  the  government  takes  from  the  liberty  of 
the  citizen  only  so  much  as  is  necessary  for  the  weal  of 
the  nation.  In  America  there  are  no  masters  who 
govern  in  their  own  right,  for  their  own  interest,  or  at 
their  own  will-     We  have  over  us  no  Bourbon  saying: 


ARCHBISHOP  JOHN  IRELAND  145 

"The  State,  I  am  the  State";  no  Hohenzollern  proclaim- 
ing that  in  his  acts  as  sovereign  he  is  responsible  only  to 
his  conscience  and  to  God.  Ours  is  the  government  of 
the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people.  Our 
government  is  our  own  organized  will. 

In  America,  rights  begin  with  and  go  upward  from  the 
people.  In  other  countries,  even  in  those  which  are 
apparently  the  most  free,  rights  begin  with  and  come 
downward  from  the  state;  the  rights  of  citizens,  the 
rights  of  the  people  are  concessions  which  have  been 
wrested  from  the  government. 

In  America,  whenever  the  government  does  not  prove 
its  grant,  the  liberty  of  the  individual  citizen  remains 
intact.  Elsewhere  there  are  governments  called  repub- 
lics; there,  too,  universal  suffrage  establishes  the  state; 
but  once  established,  the  state  is  tyrannous  and  arbi- 
trary; invades  at  will  private  rights  and  curtails  at  wiP 
individual  liberty.  One  republic  only  is  Hberty's  native 
home — America. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Who  said,  "I  am  the  State"?    2.    Explain  the  allusion 
bo  "Hohenzollern." 

AMERICANISM— WHAT  DOES  IT  MEAN* 
Rabbi  Emanuel  Sternheim 

Patriotism  is  an  immense  natural  force,  a  magical 
spell.  It  rests  on  the  tie  of  blood  which  extends  to  the 
whole  nation.  It  is  based  upon  our  home,  the  actual 
place  to  which  we  are  bound  by  affection.  Furthermore, 
it  is  based  upon  our  reaction  upon  the  world,  language, 
ideas,  modes  of  life,  social  habits. 

♦From  Social  Service  Review,  April- June,  1920. 


146  AMERICANIZATION 

Americanism  must  speak  to  us  of  the  great  events 
which  have  come  to  ruffle  our  calm  but  to  ennoble  our 
character;  and  to  put  the  coping  stone  upon  the  handi- 
work of  centuries,  which  is  the  perfection  of  our  Ameri- 
can system  of  democracy.  In  these  terms  we  must  spell 
patriotism  as  the  first  element  in  our  ideal  of  Ameri- 
canism. 

An  enlightened  opinion,  however,  and  a  lofty  concep- 
tion are  not  either  in  themselves  or  together  sufficient. 
We  need  a  lofty  conception  of  service  added  as  a  part 
of  the  three-fold  ideal  of  what  Americanism  means  to  us 
as  individuals. 

If  training  for  citizenship  in  our  public  schools  is  to  be 
vital  and  enduring,  it  must  express  itself  in  some  organ- 
ized form  of  community  service.  The  army  makes  an 
appeal  to  the  young  and  is  composed  largely  of  young 
men.  Why  should  not  recognized  forms  of  public  ser- 
vice be  offered  to  our  youth?  They  have  more  time 
than  they  know  how  to  employ.  The  young  prove  effi- 
cient in  industry;  why  should  they  not  be  efficient  in  the 
service  of  the  community?  They  are  eager  for  adven- 
ture and  are  more  capable  of  devotion  than  they  will 
ever  be  again.  If  they  are  given  something  to  do  in  t'he 
service  of  the  state  and  community,  they  will  attain  the 
art  of  social  efficiency  and  will  have  a  marked  degree  of 
public  spirit  for  the  rest  of  life.  What  form  this  service 
should  take,  I  will  not  attempt  to  say,  but  I  believe  it 
will  be  one  of  the  notable  developments  in  the  future 
training  of  our  citizens.  If  the  state  calls  youth  to 
military  service  and  must  prescribe  an  age  limit  below 
which  they  shall  be  kept  from  the  call  of  industry,  is  it 
not  the  part  of  wisdom  to  give  them  an  honored  and 
responsible  place  in  the  community  and  the  state? 


HENEY  CABOT  LODGE  147 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    In  what  ways  can  we  combine  for  community  service? 
2.    How  does  one  enter  public  life  in  America? 

GOOD  CITIZENSHIP* 
Henry  Cabot  Lodge 

Assuming  that  good  citizenship  necessarily  implies 
service  of  some  sort  to  the  state,  the  country,  or  the 
public,  it  must  be  understood,  of  course,  that  such  ser- 
vice may  vary  widely  in  amount  or  in  degree.  The  man 
and  woman  who  have  a  family  of  children,  educate  them, 
bring  them  up  honorably  and  well,  teaching  them  to  love 
their  country,  are  good  citizens,  and  deserving  well  of 
the  republic.  The  man,  who,  in  order  to  care  for  his 
family  and  give  his  children  a  fair  start  in  life,  labors 
honestly  and  diligently  at  his  trade,  profession,  or  busi- 
ness, and  who  casts  his  vote  conscientiously  at  all  elec- 
tions, adds  to  the  strength  as  well  as  to  the  material 
prosperity  of  the  country,  and  thus  fulfills  some  of  the 
primary  and  most  important  duties  of  good  citizenship. 

No  man  can  hope  to  be  a  useful  citizen  in  the  broadest 
sense,  in  the  United  States,  unless  he  takes  a  continuous 
and  intelligent  interest  in  politics  and  a  full  share,  not 
only  in  the  elections,  but  also  in  the  primary  operations 
which  determine  the  choice  of  candidates.  For  this 
everyone  has  time  enough,  and,  if  he  says  that  he  has 
not,  it  is  because  he  is  indifferent  when  he  ought  to  be 
intensely  and  constantly  interested.  If  he  follows  public 
affairs  from  day  to  day,  and,  thus  informed,  acts  with  his 

*From  A  Frontier  Town  and  Other  Essays.  Copyright,  1906, 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons.  Reprinted  by  permission  of  the  pub- 
lishers. 


A48  AMERICANIZATION 

friends  and  those  who  think  as  he  does  at  the  caucus  and 
the  polls,  he  will  make  his  influence  fully  felt  and  will 
meet  completely  the  test  of  good  citizenship. 

It  is  not  essential  to  take  office.  But  it  would  be  well 
if  every  man  could  have,  for  a  short  period,  some  exper- 
ience in  the  actual  work  of  government  in  his  city,  state, 
or  nation,  even  if  he  has  no  intention  of  following  a 
political  career.  Such  an  experience  does  more  to 
broaden  a  man's  knowledge  of  the  difiiculties  of  pubhc 
administration  than  anything  else.  It  helps  him  to 
understand  how  he  can  practically  attain  that  which  he 
thinks  is  best  for  the  state,  and,  most  important  of  all, 
it  enables  him  to  act  with  other  men,  and  to  judge  justly 
those  who  are  doing  the  work  of  public  life. 

It  is  essential  that  every  man  who  desires  to  be  a  useful 
citizen  should  not  only  take  part  in  moulding  public 
sentiment,  in  selecting  candidates,  and  in  winning  elec- 
tions for  the  party  or  the  cause  in  which  he  believes,  but 
he  should  also  be  familiar  with  the  character,  abilities, 
and  records  of  the  men  who  must  be  the  instruments 
by  which  the  policies  are  to  be  carried  out  and  the  govern- 
ment administered.  There  are  many  ways,  therefore, 
in  which  men  may  benefit  and  aid  their  fellowmen,  and 
serve  the  state  in  which  they  live,  but  it  is  open  to  all 
men  afike  to  help  to  govern  the  country  and  direct  its 
course  along  the  passing  years.  In  the  performance  of 
this  duty,  any  man  can  attain  to  good  citizenship  of  the 
highest  usefulness.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  our 
success  as  a  nation  depends  upon  the  useful  citizens  who 
act  intelligently  and  effectively  in  politics. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Some  believe  that  a  man  who  refrains  from  voting  for  a 
period  of  years  should  be  deprived  of  the  right  of  suffrage  for  a 


"THE  CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE  MONITOR"    149 

given  time.    Do  you?    2.    Do  you  believe  that  the  poll  tax 
should  be  abolished?    Why? 

LOYALTY  TO   DEMOCRATIC   STANDARDS* 

Nothing  is  easier  than  to  blame  others  if  anything  is 
wrong,  or  to  leave  the  task  to  others  if  something  a  little 
exacting  needs  to  be  done.  This  is  proverbially  true 
with  respect  to  the  duties  of  citizenship,  and  in  the  least 
backward  democracies,  notwithstanding  all  national 
foundations  have  been  shaken  during  the  war,  it  is  still 
a  common  thing  for  citizens  to  regard  the  civic  error  or 
obligation  as  that  of  "the  other  fellow."  With  all  the 
deep  and  vital  lessons  of  the  war  apparently  less  effective 
than  might  be  expected,  and  with  public  schools  weakened 
and,  in  scores  of  communities,  closed  for  lack  of  teachers, 
the  ordinarily  patriotic  American  finds  himself  wondering 
what  will  arouse  the  nation  to  grapple  with  the  problems 
of  to-day,  and  to  see  that  the  children  are  properly 
educated  to  cope  with  the  questions  of  to-morrow. 

In  these  circumstances  especial  interest,  naturally 
and  properly,  attaches  to  those  who  took  part  in  the 
war.  They  have  undergone  tests,  they  have  been 
awakened,  presumably  they  care  what  is  done  in  their 
home  democracy,  and  for  its  future.  So,  when  it 
developed  that  the  demobilized  millions  of  American 
soldiers  and  sailors  were  to  be  imited  in  a  permanent 
organization,  persons  concerned  for  the  welfare  of  the 
United  States  began  to  ask  themselves  how  these  active, 
forceful  young  men  would  exercise  the  immense  power 
likely  to  be  wielded  by  so  great  a  union  as  theirs  promised 
to  be.  Would  they  be  steady?  This  was  one  of  the  first 
questions.    There  has  not  yet  been  very  much  to  show 

*Condensed  from  an  editorial  in  The  Christian  Science  Monitor 
of  January  7,  1920.     Reprinted  by  permission. 


150  AMEEICANIZATION 

how  they  will  make  their  influence  felt  in  the  affairs  of 
the  nation,  but  what  there  has  been  is  mainly  of  the  sort 
to  give  assurance.  The  few  dignified  public  utterances 
of  the  man  they  have  placed  at  their  head  have  the  right 
ring.  It  is  evidently  his  purpose  to  build  the  mighty 
structure  of  the  American  Legion  on  broad  lines  and  on  a 
high  plane.  The  importance  of  so  doing  is  clearly 
beyond  estimation,  for  this  body  of  young  men  represents 
no  section  of  the  nation — but  the  entire  republic. 

And  what  of  the  other  millions  of  citizens?  Perhaps 
they  have  had  less  in  their  experience  to  awaken  them 
to  the  needs  of  the  time  than  have  the  men  who  have 
been  actually  in  the  war,  but  there  would  seem  to  be 
enough,  both  of  promise  of  progress  and  of  cause  for  pre- 
caution, to  interest  any  fairly  intelligent  member  of  a 
democracy.  The  entry  of  women  as  a  great  factor  in 
national...^political  affairs,  and  the  advent  of  national 
constitutional  prohibition,  to  mention  nothing  else, 
ought  to  inspire  every  well-meaning  possessor  of  a  vote 
to  useful  participation  in  the  government  of  his  country. 
As  for  the  other  side  of  the  picture,  much  is  heard,  and 
ought  to  be  heard,  about  the  more  striking  manifesta- 
tions of  ignorance,  misconception,  and  disloyalty,  and 
of  their  possible  remedy.  There  is,  however,  just  as 
much  need  of  reform  among  the  idly  neglectful,  and 
among  the  well-dressed,  comparatively  well-mannered, 
apparently  harmless  people,  who  by  secret,  underhand, 
and  wholly  selfish  means,  impair  the  integrity  of  indi- 
viduals and  pervert  the  machinery  of  government. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.  What  civic  duties  are  shirked  by  the  citizens  of  your 
community?  2.  What  will  be  the  probable  effect  upon  the 
future  of  o,ur  government  of  universal  suffrage  for  women? 
Of  national  prohibition?  3.  Cite  instances  to  show  how  one 
may  "pervert  the  machinery  of  government"  for  selfish  ends. 


LAWRENCE  LOWELL  151 

LIBERTY  AND  DISCIPLINE* 
Lawrence  Lowell 

Americans  are  more  familiar  with  the  benefits  of 
discipline  in  fact,  than  conscious  of  them  in  theory. 
Anyone  who  should  try  to  manage  a  factory,  a  bank,  a 
railroad,  a  ship,  a  military  company,  or  an  athletic 
team,  on  the  principle  of  having  every  employee  or 
member  of  the  organization  take  whatever  part  in  the 
work,  and  do  it  whatever  way  seemed  best  in  his  own 
eyes,  would  come  to  sudden  grief  and  be  mercilessly 
laughed  at.  We  all  know  that  any  enterprise  can  be 
successful  only  if  there  is  co-ordination  of  effort,  or  what 
for  short  we  call  team  play. 

Experience  has  taught  us  that  the  maximum  efficiency 
is  attained  where  the  team  play  is  most  nearly  perfect, 
and  therefore,  the  subordination  of  the  individual  to  the 
combined  action  is  most  nearly  complete.  Then  there 
is  the  greatest  harmony  of  action,  and  the  least  waste  by 
friction  or  working  at  cross  purposes.  But  everyone  is 
aware  that  such  a  condition  does  not  come  about  of 
itself.  Men  do  not  fit  into  their  places  in  a  team  or 
organization  spontaneously.  Until  they  have  become 
experts  they  do  not  appreciate  the  relation  of  their 
particular  work  to  the  plan  as  a  whole;  and  even  when 
they  have  become  familiar  with  the  game  or  the  industry, 
they  are  apt  to  overestimate  their  own  part  in  it,  or  dis- 
agree about  the  best  method  of  attaining  the  result. 
Everyone  likes  to  rule,  and  when  Artemus Ward  suggested 
that  all  the  men  in  a  regiment  should  be  made  Brigadier 
Generals  at  once  to  avoid  jealousy,  he  touched  a  familiar 
weakness  in  human  nature. 

Believers  in  the  principle  of  liberty  assert  that  a^  man 

*Reprinted  from  the   Yale  Review.     Permission  of  the  author. 


152  AMERICANIZATION 

will  put  forth  more  effort,  and  more  intelligent  effort, 
if  he  chooses  his  own  field,  and  works  in  his  own  way, 
than  if  he  labors  under  the  constant  direction  of  others. 
The  mere  sense  of  freedom  is  stimulating  in  a  high  degree 
to  vigorous  natures.  The  man  who  directs  himself  is 
responsible  for  the  consequences.  He  guarantees  the 
result,  and  stakes  his  character  and  reputation  on  it. 
If  after  selecting  his  own  career  he  finds  that  he  has 
chosen  wrongly,  he  writes  himself  down  a  fool.  The 
theory  of  hberty,  then,  is  based  upon  the  belief  that  a 
man  is  usually  a  better  judge  of  his  own  aptitudes  than 
anyone  else  can  be,  and  that  he  will  put  forth  more  and 
better  effort  if  he  is  free  than  if  he  is  not. 

Both  these  principles,  of  discipline  and  of  liberty, 
contain  much  truth.  Neither  is  absolutely  true,  nor  can 
be  carried  to  its  logical  extreme,  for  one  by  subjecting  all 
a  man's  actions  to  the  control  of  a  master  would  lead  to 
slavery,  the  other  by  leaving  every  man  free  to  disregard 
the  common  welfare  would  lead  to  anarchy. 

We  have  learned  in  this  stress  of  nations  that  men 
•cannot  fight  without  ammunition  well  made  in  abund- 
ance; but  we  do  not  see  that  the  crucial  matter  in  civiliza- 
tion is  the  preparedness  of  young  men  for  the  work  of  the 
world;  not  only  an  ample  supply  of  the  best  material 
but  a  product  moulded  on  the  best  pattern,  tempered 
and  finished  to  the  highest  point  of  perfection.  Is  this 
the  ideal  of  a  dreamer  that  cannot  be  realized;  or  is  it 
a  vision  which  young  men  will  see  and  turn  to  a  virile 
faith? 


Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  is  the  difference  between  liberty  and  license? 


EDWIN  E.  SLOSSON  153 

UNITED  WE  STAND* 
Edwin  E.  Slosson 

We  Americans  do  not  believe  that  people  should  be 
pressed  into  the  same  mould,  machined  to  the  same  pat- 
tern. It  was  to  escape  such  a  process  that  many  of  us 
or  our  ancestors  came  to  America. 

America  was  populated  by  the  persecuted.  Puritans 
from  England,  Huguenots  from  France,  Germans  from 
the  Rhine,  Catholics  from  Ireland,  Czecho-Slovaks 
from  Austria-Hungary,  Armenians  from  Turkey,  Jews 
from  Russia.  These  are  but  a  few  of  those  who  fled  to 
America  for  freedom  from  the  rehgious,  economic,  racial, 
or  military  oppression  at  home.  All  these  were  protes- 
tants  and  non-conformists  in  the  original  sense  of  these 
words,  whether  they  were  v  Catholics  or  Congregational- 
ists.  They  were  a  chosen  people — chosen  to  be  kicked 
out  from  their  native  lands.  Whether  our  fathers  came 
over  in  the  "Mayflower"  along  with  a  shipload  of  furni- 
ture and  pewter  ware  or  whether  they  came  over  later 
in  the  more  comfortable  accommodations  of  a  steamer 
steerage,  it  was  mostly  because  they  were  considered 
undesirable  citizens  that  they  were  forced  or  permitted 
to  depart. 

America  is  a  chosen  land — selected  out  of  all  parts  of 
the  world  as  their  future  home  by  those  who  desired  or 
were  obliged  to  leave  their  native  countries.  This  is  an 
honor  that  we  should  appreciate  and  endeavor  to  deserve. 
The  United  States  is  a  synthetic  nation.  Other  coun- 
tries "just  growed,"  like  Topsy.  Ours  is  the  conscious 
and  considered  creation  of  its  people.     European  and 

*From  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  address  at  the  University  of  Chicago, 
June  14,  1920.    Used  by  permission  of  the  author. 


154  AMERICANIZATION 

Asiatic  countries  are  almost  entirely  populated  by  those 
who  were  born  there  and  did  not  have  energy  enough  to 
get  away.  Our  population  is  largely  composed  of  those 
who  were  not  born  here  and  had  energy  enough  to  come. 
What  is  called  patriotism  is  sometimes  not  love  of  coun- 
try but  mere  laziness.  Out  patriotism  is  less  alloyed 
with  this  element  than  any  other,  for  a  large  proportion 
of  Americans  love  America  because  they  have  lived 
elsewhere.  They  came  here  because  they  thought  they 
would  find  it  best;  they  stay  here  because  they  have 
found  it  best.    Americanism  is  an  elective  course. 

Our  form  of  government  is  no  hand-me-down  from  a 
former  generation,  no  misfit  borrowed  from  another 
land.  It  is  made  to  measure  and  is  re-made  to  fit.  Our 
social  system  is  more  of  a  skin  than  a  coat.  It  grows 
with  us.  Every  man  his  own  tailor  is  the  law  of  democ- 
racy. The  king  of  France  said,  ''I  am  the  state."  It 
was  a  lie  and  they  cut  off  his  head  for  it.  The  American 
citizen  says,  "I  am  the  state,"  and  it  is  the  literal  truth. 
All  men  are  monarchs.  This  develops  a  sense  of  responsi- 
bihty.  In  other  lands  the  people  can  complain,  ''Why 
don't  they  do  it?"  In  America  we  can  only  wonder, 
"Why  don't  we  do  it?" 

Consequently  the  first  lesson  to  be  taught  to  an 
immigrant  is  that  patriotism  m  the  American  sense  is  a 
different  thing  from  Old  World  patriotism.  American- 
ism does  not  mean  loyalty  to  a  king;  it  does  not  mean 
attachment  to  a  particular  spot  of  ground;  it  does  not 
mean  conformity  to  a  fixed  code  of  customs;  it  does  not 
mean  the  perpetuation  of  traditional  institutions;  it 
does  not  mean  the  aversion  to  novel  and  foreign  ideas; 
it  does  not  mean  hostility  toward  those  who  differ  from 
us. 


EDWIN  E.  SLOSSON  155 

Americanism  is  one  of  the  fine  arts,  the  finest  of  all 
the  fine  arts,  the  art  of  getting  along  peaceably  with  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  We  Americans  have  had 
more  experience  in  the  practice  of  this  art  than  other 
nations,  and  it  is  not  undue  boasting  to  say  that  we 
have  acquired  a  certain  proficiency  in  it.  A  steel  mill 
may  contain  twenty  different  nationahties  and  they  do 
not  quarrel  any  more  than  so  many  Irishmen  or  Poles 
in  their  native  land.  A  city  block  is  a  map  of  Europe 
in  miniature.  The  immigrants  try  to  keep  up  their 
traditional  antipathies,  but  there  are  few  Old  World 
feuds  that,  if  let  alone,  can  resist  the  solvent  atmosphere 
of  America.  Their  children  when  they  go  to  school  call 
each  other  names  and  stretch  their  little  necks  trying 
to  look  down  on  one  another.  And  when  they  grow  up 
they  go  into  partnership  or  intermarry.  So  scrapping 
and  bargaining,  quarreling  and  flirting,  studying  together 
and  working  together,  they  learn  to  know  each  other 
and  become  good  Americans  together. 

No  nation  was  ever  before  put  to  such  a  strain  as  ours 
in  the  Great  War,  for  none  ever  contained  so  many 
representatives  of  the  belligerent  nationalities,  yet  none 
proved  more  stable  and  strong.  Our  national  motto 
was  not  true  when  it  was  adopted,  but  it  is  now.  At 
last  the  American  people,  regardless  of  racial  diversity, 
can  say  with  sincerity :    United  we  stand. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Explain  the  allusion  to  "Topsy".  2.  Why  can  an 
American  citizen  say,  "I  am  the  state"?  3.  Why  does  the 
author  say  that  our  national  motto  (e  'pluribus  unum)  was  not 
true  when  it  was  adopted? 


156  AMERICANIZATION 

THE  ABILITY  TO  REASON, 

A  NECESSARY  QUALITY  FOR  CITIZENSHIP 

Arthur  T.  Hadley 

We  are  getting  ready  to  be  intelligent  citizens — ^men 
who  can  judge  public  affairs,  do  independent  thinking 
on  national  problems,  and  lead  the  nation  into  right  lines 
of  policy.  Democracy  needs  this  sort  of  leaders  even 
more  than  it  needs  doctors  or  engineers;  and  it  finds 
them  very  scarce.  It  is  a  good  thing  for  a  nation  to 
have  skilled  medical  advisers  and  skillful  engineering 
experts.  But  it  is  an  even  better  thing  to  have  the 
energies  of  the  nation  as  a  whole  wisely  directed.  The 
health  of  the  body  politic  is  more  important  than  the 
health  of  one  man  or  a  hundred  men.  The  waste  due  to 
misguided  legislation  is  ten  times  greater  than  the  waste 
due  to  miscalculated  force.  It  is  more  fundamentally 
essential  to  preserve  the  country  from  poHtical  dangers 
at  home  or  abroad  than  from  the  physical  dangers  which 
beset  individuals. 

The  source  of  these  dangers  to  the  body  politic  lies  in 
the  fact  that  most  people  in  their  political  and  social 
relations  are  guided  by  emotion  rather  than  thinking, 
intuition  rather  than  judgment.  They  alternate  between 
unreasoning  selfishness  on  the  one  hand  and  unreasoned 
benevolence  on  the  other.  The  history  of  Greece  and 
Rome  and  the  cities  of  mediaeval  Europe  show  how  this 
difiiculty  over  and  over  again  has  wrecked  democratic 
government  and  brought  nations  which  were  once  free 
under  foreign  rule  or  domestic  tyranny. 

First,  we  must  know  how  to  find  out  facts;  where  to 
look  for  them,  how  to  test  them,  how  to  judge  the  evi- 
dence for  one  statement  or  another  in  the  face  of  our  pre- 
possessions. This  is  often  a  difficult  task.  We  are 
always  tempted  to  accept  the  statement  which  is  easiest 


ARTHUR  T.  HADLEY 

to  understand,  instead  of  the  one  that  is  most  scrupu- 
lously near  the  truth;  to  take  our  knowledge  from  the 
highly  colored  phrases  of  the  novel  or  the  newspaper, 
rather  than  from  laborious  investigation  of  our  own. 
Our  eye  is  so  caught  by  the  label,  the  headline,  or  the 
advertisement,  that  we  feel  no  impulse  to  test  the  under- 
lying reality.  The  bane  of  American  work  as  a  whole, 
both  public  and  private,  is  the  unwillingness  of  our 
people  to  take  trouble  to  get  things  right. 

But  we  must  do  something  more.  It  is  not  enough 
for  us  or  for  the  country  to  face  facts  truthfully.  We 
must  know  the  relative  importance  of  different  kinds  of 
facts.  The  man  who  has  facts  at  command,  knows 
their  relative  values,  and  understands  the  art  of  stating 
them  in  proper  order,  is  the  guide  whom  the  people 
crave.  Men  sometimes  talk  of  the  selfishness  of  the 
masses  or  of  their  lack  of  intellectual  curiosity.  The 
trouble  is  not  so  much  selfishness  as  restricted  vision; 
not  lack  of  curiosity,  but  desire  to  gratify  that  curiosity 
too  easily.  The  man  whose  study  of  language  has  taught 
him  to  avoid  unnecessary  words,  and  whose  study  of 
mathematics  or  of  law  has  taught  him  to  take  his 
thoughts  to  pieces  and  put  them  together  again  until 
he  has  arranged  them  in  the  form  of  proof,  goes  out  into 
the  world  equipped  as  a  leader  of  men.  His  it  is  to  lift 
them  above  their  prejudices.  His  it  is  to  help  them  to 
wisdom  which  the  citizens  must  possess  in  order  that  a 
free  commonwealth  may  remain  free.  His  it  is  to 
develop  the  rational  patriotism  and  rational  religion  on 
which  permanent  freedom  must  rest. 


Questions  akd  Exercises 

1.    What  is  meant  by  "the  ability  to  reason"?    2.  What  are 
the  chief  political  dangers  in  any  democracy? 


158  AMERICANIZATION 

AMERICANISM* 
Theodore  Roosevelt 

There  are  two  or  three  things  that  Americanism  means. 
In  the  first  place  it  means  that  we  shall  give  to  our  fellow- 
citizens,  the  same  wide  latitude  as  to  his  individual 
beliefs  that  we  demand  for  ourselves;  that,  so  long  as  a 
man  does  his  work  as  a  man  should,  we  shall  not  inquire, 
we  shall  not  hold  for  or  against  him  in  civic  life,  his 
method  of  paying  homage  to  his  Maker. 

Now  for  another  side  of  Americanism,  the  side  of  the 
work.  Ourdemocracy  means  that  we  have  no  privileged 
class,  no  class  that  is  exempt  from  the  duties  or  deprived 
of  the  privileges  that  are  implied  in  the  words  ''American 
citizenship."  Now  that  principle  has  two  sides  to  it, 
itself,  for  all  of  us  would  be  Ukely  to  dwell  continually 
upon  one  side,  that  all  have  equal  rights.  It  is  more 
important  that  we  should  dwell  on  the  other  side;  that 
is,  that  we  will  have  our  duties  and  that  the  rights  can 
not  be  kept  unless  the  duties  are  performed. 

The  law  of  American  life  must  be  the  law  of  work; 
not  the  law  of  idleness;  not  the  law  of  self-indulgence  or 
pleasure,  merely  the  law  of  work.  That  may  seem  like 
a  trite  saying.  Most  true  sayings  are  trite.  It  is  a 
disgrace  for  any  American  not  to  do  his  duty,  but  it  is  a 
double,  a  triple  disgrace  for  a  man  of  means  or  a  man  of 
education  not  to  do  his  duty.  The  only  work  worth 
doing  is  done  by  those  men,  those  women,  who  learn  not 
to  shrink  from  difficulties,  but  to  face  them  and  over- 
come them.  So  that  Americanism  means  work,  means 
effort,  means  the  constant  unending  strife  with  our  con- 
ditions, which  is  not  only  the  law  of  nature  if  the  race  is 

*Extract  from  an  address  delivered  at  the  Jewish  Chautauqua, 
July  23,  1900. 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  159 

to  progress,  but  which  is  really  the  law  of  the  highest 
happiness  for  us  ourselves. 

You  have  got  to  have  the  same  interest  in  public 
affairs  as  in  private  affairs  or  you  cannot  keep  this 
country  what  this  country  should  be.  You  have  got  to 
have  more  than  that — you  have  got  to  have  courage. 
I  don't  care  how  good  a  man  is,  if  he  is  timid,  his  value  is 
limited.  The  timid  will  not  amount  to  very  much  in 
the  world.  I  want  to  see  a  good  man  ready  to  smite 
with  the  sword.  I  want  to  see  him  able  to  hold  his  own 
in  active  life  against  the  force  of  evil.  I  want  to  see  him 
war  effectively  for  righteousness. 

(Of  all  the  things  we  don't  want  to  see  is  the  tendency 
to  divide  into  camps,  on  the  one  side  all  the  nice,  pleas- 
ant, refined  people  of  high  instincts,  but  no  capacity  to 
do  work,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  men  who  have  not  got 
nice  instincts  at  all,  but  who  are  not  afraid.  When  you 
get  that  condition,  you  are  preparing  immeasurable 
disaster  for  the  nation.  You  have  got  to  combine 
decency  and  honesty  with  courage.  But  even  that  is 
not  enough,  for  I  don't  care  how  brave,  how  honest  a 
man  is,  if  he  is  a  natural-born  fool  he  cannot  be  a  suc- 
cess. He  has  got  to  have  the  saving  grace  of  common 
sense.  He  has  got  to  have  the  right  kind  of  heart,  he 
has  got  to  be  upright  and  decent,  he  has  got  to  be  brave, 
and  he  has  got  to  have  common  sense.  He  has  got  to 
have  intelligence,  and  if  he  has  those,  then  he  has  in  him 
the  making  of  a  first-class  American  citizen. 


Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  are  the  "public  affairs"  in  which  we  should  take  an 
interest?  2.  What  are  some  of  the  other  ideals  of  American- 
ism? Is  the  construction,  "You  have  got  to  have,"  in  good  form? 


160  AMERICANIZATION 

A  MAN  WITHOUT  A  COUNTRY 
E.  D.  Shueter* 

What  did  Theodore  Roosevelt  mean  when  he  said 
that  there  must  be  ''no  divided  allegiance"  in  America? 
He  certainly  did  not  mean  that  one  born  in  some  other 
country  should  have  no  love  for  the  land  of  his  birth. 
He  meant  that  when  one  comes  to  live  in  America,  and 
takes  ad  vantage  of  the  opportunities  offered  here,  he  owes 
America  his  first  and  sole  allegiance.  If  he  likes  the 
conditions  of  life  and  the  form  of  government  of  some 
other  country  better  than  he  likes  ours,  plainly,  he 
belongs  to  that  country  and  should  go  there  at  once. 
All  that  America  asks  is  that  he  shall  choose  some  coun- 
try, and  then  live  m  the  country  of  his  choice;  with  "no 
divided  allegiance." 

Beginning  with  the  home,  and  extending  to  the  com- 
munity, the  state,  the  nation,  the  current  of  our  hves 
must  flow  from  the  well-spring  of  loyalty.  If  a  man  says, 
"I  am  a  citizen  of  the  world,"  the  reply  is:  "Very  well, 
but  just  as  you  must  first  be  a  good,  loyal  member  of 
your  own  household  before  you  can  become  a  good 
member  of  your  community,  even  so  must  you  first  be  a 
good  loyal  citizen  of  some  one  nation  before  you  can  be 
a  good  citizen  of  the  world;  you  must  first  of  all  be  a  good 
nationalist  before  you  can  qualify  as  a  good  inter- 
nationalist." 

The  man  who  is  an  internationalist  in  the  sense  of 
disclaiming  allegiance  to  any  one  country,  or  is  a  resident 
of  one  country  and  a  supporter  of  another,  is  in  reality 
a  man  without  a  country.  And  can  you  imagine  a  more 
pitiable  phght  than  a  man  in  this  position?    The  words 

*Adapted  . 


E.  D.  SHUKTEE  161 

of  Philip  Nolan,  "the  man  without  a  country,"  should 
be  burned  into  the  mind  and  consciousness  of  every  boy 
and  girl  in  the  United  States. 

"Youngster,"  Nolan  said,  "if  you  are  ever  tempted  to 
say  a  word  or  to  do  a  thing  that  shall  put  a  bar  between 
you  and  your  family,  your  home,  and  your  country, 
pray  God  in  His  mercy  to  take  you  that  instant  home  to 
His  own  heaven.  Stick  by  your  family,  boy;  forget  that 
you  have  a  self,  while  you  do  everything  for  them. 
Think  of  your  home,  boy;  write  and  send,  and  talk  about 
it.  Let  it  be  nearer  and  nearer  to  your  thought  the 
farther  you  have  to  travel  from  it.  And  for  your  coun- 
try, boy,  and  for  her  flag,  never  dream  a  dream  but  of 
serving  her  as  she  bids  you,  though  the  service  carry 
you  through  a  thousand  hells.  No  matter  what  happens 
to  you,  no  matter  who  flatters  you  or  who  abuses  ypu, 
never  let  a  night  pass  but  you  pray  God  to  bless  that 
flag.  Remember  boy,  that  behind  all  these  men  that 
you  have  to  do  with,  behind  officers,  and  government, 
and  people  even,  there  is  the  Country  Herself,  your 
Country,  and  that  you  belong  to  Her  as  you  belong  to 
your  own  mother.  Stand  by  Her,  boy,  as  you  would 
stand  by  your  mother." 


Questions  and  Exercises 

1 .  What  further  light  is  thrown  upon  the  phrase,  "no  divided 
allegiance,"  by  the  selection  on  page  160?  2.  Sketch  the  story 
of  Philip  Nolan,  as  recounted  by  Edward  Everett  Hale  in  his 
''Man  Without  a  Country."  What  was  the  author's  purpose  in 
writing  this  story?     Is  it  fact  or  fiction? 


162  AMERICANIZATION 

ANCESTRAL  IDEALS* 
Henry  Van  Dyke 

America  has  followed  her  ancestral  ideal  of  republican 
government  with  marvelous  fidelity,  and  still  more 
marvelous  success.  Without  militarism  she  has  made 
her  power  felt  around  the  globe.  Without  colonies  she 
has  outstripped  all  colonial  empires  in  the  growth  of  her 
export  trade.  Without  conquering  vessels  or  annexing 
tributaries  she  has  expanded  her  population  from  three 
million  to  one  hundred  million,  and  welcomed  a  score  of 
races  to  her  capacious  bosom,  not  to  subjugate  them,  but 
to  transform  them  into  Americans.  Glory  to  the  ideal 
of  a  new  nation,  "conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedicated 
to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal!" 
Glory  has  come  to  it  for  a  hundred  years.  Glory  still 
waits  for  it.  It  is  to-day  the  most  potent  and  prosperous 
ideal  in  the  whole  world.  All  that  this  country  needs 
is  to  be  true  to  her  own  ideal,  and  so  to  lead  mankind. 
But  this  last  ideal  which  reaches  forward  into  the  long 
future — the  ideal  of  national  glory  and  grandeur — is 
it  indeed  ancestral?  Did  the  fathers  cherish  it  and  dream 
of  it? 

There  are  those  who  tell  us  that  their  eyes  were  not 
opened  to  behold  this  vision.  We  are  asked  to  believe 
that  they  were  short-sighted  in  regard  to  the  greatness 
of  America;  and  therefore  their  counsels  are  inapplicable 
to  the  days  of  our  prosperity.  I  do  not  believe  it.  The 
representative  of  Spain  at  Paris  in  1783,  Count  Arondo, 
said :  "This  Federal  Republic  is  born  a  pigmy.  The  day 
will  come  when  it  will  be  a  giant,  a  colossus,  formidable 

♦Extract  from  a  speech  delivered  at  the  annual  dinner  of  the  New 
England  Society  of  Philadelphia,  December  22,  1898.  Used  by 
courtesy  of  the  author. 


HENRY  VAN  DYKE  163 

even  in  these  countries.  Liberty  and  conscience,  the 
facility  for  establishing  a  new  population  on  immense 
lands,  as  well  as  the  advantages  of  a  new  government, 
will  draw  artisans  and  farmers  even  from  the  great 
nations."  That  was  a  vision  of  jealousy  and  fear.  Do 
you  believe  that  the  eyes  of  our  ancestors  were  too  blind 
to  behold  that  vision  in  joy  and  hope?  Nay,  they  saw 
it,  and  they  saw  also  how  it  was  to  be  obtained.  Not  on 
the  old  plan  of  the  Roman  Empire,  annexation  without 
incorporation,  but  on  the  new  plan  of  the  American 
Republic — liberation,  population,  education,  assimila- 
tion. 

Turn  back  to  these  noble  words  of  the  farewell  address, 
in  which  the  Father  of  Our  Country  said:  ''It  will  be 
worthy  of  a  free,  enlightened,  and,  at  no  distant  period, 
a  great  nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous  and 
too  novel'example  of  a  people  guided  by  an  exalted  jus- 
tice and  benevolence."  This  is  our  ancestral  ideal  of 
national  glory  and  grandeur.  Not  military  conquest, 
but  worldwide  influence.  Not  colonies  in  both  hemis- 
pheres, but  friends,  admirers,  and  imitators  around  the 
globe. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  Colonies  has  this  country  acquired  since  this  speech 
was  written?    2.     How  has  America  made  her  power  felt  around 
the  globe? 

THE  AMERICAN  SPIRIT* 
James  Cardinal  Gibbons 

I  claim  that  the  American  spirit  is  fundamentally  a 
religious  spirit.     But,  thank  God,  in  this  country,  Hberty 

*Adapted  from  an  article  in  The  Delineator, .[July,  1918.  Used 
by  permission. 


164  AMEEICANIZATION 

of  conscience  is  respected,  and  the  civil  constitution 
holds  over  us  the  aegis  of  her  protection  without  meddling 
in  ecclesiastical  affairs.  ''America,"  to  quote  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  "this  happy  country  of  ours,  where  religion 
and  liberty  are  natural  allies."  And  so  for  our  basic 
Americanism,  rehgion. 

Next,  civic  liberty  and  privilege.  We  are  happily 
living  under  a  government  of  constitutional  freedom. 
Our  citizens  enjoy  the  largest  measure  of  freedom  that  is 
compatible  with  law  and  order.  They  are  justly  impa- 
tient of  arbitrary  coercion  and  chafe  under  any  undue 
restraint  that  might  be  imposed  on  their  personal  inde- 
pendence. This  individualism  is  a  healthy  stimulus  to 
legitimate  activity  and  honorable  emulation  in  the 
various  walks  of  public  and  private  life. 

Surely  of  all  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  the  Ameri- 
can citizen  should  take  special  delight  in  submitting  to 
the  legislation  imposed  upon  him  and  in  being  loyal  to 
his  country  and  its  institutions. 

The  immigrant  who  comes  to  this  land  must  remember 
that  he  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  this  land  which  opens 
wide  its  doors  to  him,  and  places  within  easy  reach  what 
is  to-day  the  greatest  of  civil  privileges :  American  citizen- 
ship! He  leaves  a  land  where,  as  yet,  he  is  debarred 
directly  or  indirectly  from  many  things  that  his  heart 
desires.  He  comes  into  the  New  World,  and  in  five  years 
he  walks  a  king  among  men,  clothed  with  the  panoply 
of  free  citizenship,  with  the  privilege  of  suffrage,  active 
and  passive,  ehgible  to  every  office  but  the  highest, 
from  which,  however,  his  children  are  not  debarred. 
The  very  magnificence  of  this  political  generosity  makes 
many  foreigners  forget  that  it  is  a  boon  pure  and  simple 
to  which  they  have  no  right,  and  which  may  be  curtailed 
or  denied  as  easily  as  it  has  been  lavished. 


JAMES  CARDINAL  GIBBONS  165 

On  this  blessed  soil  of  freedom  is  the  opportunity,  not 
to  be  found  elsewhere,  to  cultivate  every  civic  virtue: 
interest  in  all  public  problems,  conscientious  study  of 
public  issues,  the  sense  of  union  for  the  common  weal, 
unprejudiced  devotion  to  the  growth  of  the  states, 
incorruptible  exercise  of  the  sacred  right  of  the  ballot, 
which  is  the  holy  fountain  of  our  political  life  and  well- 
being,  and  to  poison  or  trifle  with  which  is  to  cut  at  the 
root  of  our  state.  These  are  indeed  the  privileges  of 
Americanism. 

Next  among  qualities  peculiar  to  the  American  spirit, 
I  would  name  the  dignity  and  the  rights  that  are  accorded 
to  the  American  laboring  class.  The  primeval  curse 
attached  to  labor  has  been  obliterated  by  the  toilsome 
life  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  has  shed  a  halo  around  the 
workshop. 

De  Tocqueville  could  not  pay  a  more  just  or  more 
beautiful  tribute  of  praise  to  the  genius  of  our  country 
than  when  he  wrote  that  every  honest  occupation  in  the 
United  States  was  honorable.  The  honest,  industrious 
man  is  honorable  among  us  whether  he  works  with  his 
hands  or  his  brains,  because  he  is  an  indispensable  factor 
in  the  nation's  progress. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  thrifty  son 
of  toil  is  held  among  us,  we  see  from  daily  observation 
that  the  humblest  vocations  of  life  are  no  bar  whatever 
to  the  highest  preferment  in  the  commonwealth,  when 
talent  and  ability  are  allied  to  patient  industry.  Frank- 
lin was  a  printer.  President  Lincoln's  youthful  days 
were  spent  in  wielding  the  ax  and  in  handling  the  plow 
on  his  father's  farm.  President  Johnson  in  his  boyhood 
was  apprenticed  to  a  tailor.  Grant  was  the  son  of  a 
tanner,  and  Garfield  once  drove  a  canal  boat. 

In  honoring  and  upholding  labor,  the  nation  strength- 


166  AMERICANIZATION 

ens  its  own  hands  as  well  as  pays  a  tribute  to  worth. 
For  a  contented  and  happy  working  class  is  the  best 
safeguard  of  the  republic. 

There  are  other  attributes  of  our  Americanism  which  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  define  in  detail.  The  people,  imbued 
with  the  true  American  spirit,  are  gifted  with  a  high  order 
of  intelligence.  They  are  self-poised  and  deliberate. 
They  are  of  industrious  and  temperate  habits.  They  are 
frank,  manly  and  ingenuous.  They  have  a  deep  sense  of 
justice  and  fair  play.  They  are  brave  and  generous,  and 
they  usually  have  the  courage  of  their  convictions. 

Let  us  glory  in  the  title  of  American  citizen !  It  mat- 
ters not  whether  this  is  the  land  of  our  birth  or  the  land 
of  our  adoption.  It  is  the  land  of  our  destiny!  Here 
we  intend  to  live  and  here  we  hope  to  die. 

My  countrymen  will  forgive  me  if  I  seem  to  yearn 
over  this  people,  but  I  do  so  because  I  believe  the 
American  people  to  be  precious  in  the  sight  of  God  and 
designed  for  a  glorious  future. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Who  was  Andrew  Johnson?    Garfield?    Franklin? 


PART  FIVE 
PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 


FAITH  IN  AMERICA* 
George  William  Curtis 

There  is  a  fashion  of  scepticism  of  American  principles, 
even  among  some  Americans,  but  it  is  one  of  the  oldest 
and  worst  fashions  in  our  history.  There  is  a  despond- 
ency which  fondly  fancies  that,  in  itc  beginning,  the 
American  repubUc  moved  proudly  toward  the  future 
with  all  the  splendid  assurance  of  the  Persian  Xerxes 
descending  on  the  shores  of  Greece;  but  that  it  sits 
to-day  among  shattered  hopes,  hke  Xerxes  above  his 
ships  at  Salamis.  And  when  was  this  golden  age?  Was 
it  when  John  Adams  appealed  from  the  baseness  of  his 
own  time  to  the  greater  candor  and  patriotism  of  this? 
Was  it  when  Fisher  Ames  mourned  over  lost  America, 
like  Rachel  for  her  children,  and  would  not  be  comforted? 
Was  it  when  William  Wirt  said  that  he  sought  in  vain 
for  a  man  fit  for  the  presidency  or  for  great  responsi- 
bility? Was  it  when  Chancellor  Livingston  saw  only  a 
threatening  future,  because  Congress  was  so  feeble? 
Was  this  the  golden  age  of  these  doubting  sighs,  this  the 
•region  behind  the  north  wind  of  these  reproachful 
regrets? 

Nay,  this  very  scepticism  is  one  of  the  foes  that  we 
must  meet  and  conquer.  Remember,  fellow  citizens,  that 
the  impulse  of  republican  government,  given  a  century 

*From  an  oration  delivered  at  the  Centennial  Celebration  of 
Concord  Fight,  April  19,  1875.  Copyrighted,  1894,  by  Harper 
and  Brothers. 

169 


170  AMERICANIZATION 

ago  at  the  old  North  Bridge,  has  shaken  every  govern- 
ment in  the  world,  but  has  been  itself  wholly  unshaken 
by  them.  .  .  .  And  what  cloud  of  doubt  so  dark 
hangs  over  us  as  that  which  lowered  above  the  colonies 
when  the  troops  of  the  king  marched  into  Concord? 
With  their  faith  and  their  will  we  shall  win  their  victory. 
No  royal  governor,  indeed,  sits  in  yon  stately  capitol, 
no  hostile  fleet  for  many  a  year  has  vexed  the  waters 
of  our  coasts,  nor  is  any  army  but  our  own  ever  likely  to 
tread  our  soil.  Not  such  are  our  enemies  to-day.  They 
do  not  come  proudly  stepping  to  the  dnmi-beat,  with 
bayonets  flashing  in  the  morning  sun.  But  wherever 
party  spirit  shall  strain  the  ancient  guarantees  of  free- 
dom; or  bigotry  and  ignorance  shall  lay  their  fatal  hands 
upon  education;  or  the  arrogance  of  caste  shall  strike  at 
equal  rights;  or  corruption  shall  poison  the  very  springs 
of  national  life — there,  minute-men  of  liberty,  are  your 
Lexington  Green  and  Concord  Bridge;  and,  as  you  love 
your  country  and  your  kind,  and  would  have  your  chil- 
dren rise  up  and  call  you  blessed,  spare  not  the  enemy! 
Over  the  hills,  out  of  the  earth,  down  from  the  clouds, 
pour  in  resistless  might.  Fire  from  every  rock  and  tree, 
from  door  and  window,  from  hearthstone  and  chamber; 
hang  upon  his  flank  and  rear  from  noon  to  sunset,  and 
so,  through  a  land  blazing  with  holy  indignation,  hurl 
the  hordes  of  ignorance  and  corruption  and  injustice 
back,  back  in  utter  defeat  and  ruin. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Who  are  the  historical  characters  referred  to?  2.  Have 
W3  to-day  other  domestic  enemies  not  mentioned  by  the  author? 
3.  The  last  paragraph  is  full  of  allusions  to  the  battles  of  Lex- 
ingtoD  and  Concord.    Explain  them. 


ALBERT  SHAW  171 

PUBLIC  SPEAKING  IN  THE* 
COUNTRY  DISTRICTS 

Albert  Shaw 

There  is  an  important  agency  that  has  played  a  great 
part  in  the  historical  development  cf  our  American 
democracy,  and  that  must  be  definitely  maintained  and 
further  developed  for  the  essential  service  it  has  yet  to 
render.  This  agency  is  what  may  best  be  termed  the 
platform.  The  right  of  assembly  and  public  discussion, 
like  that  of  the  freedom  of  the  press,  is  part  and  parcel 
of  the  constitutional  life  of  all  English-speaking  coun- 
tries. 

The  platform  as  an  institution  has  had  its  notable 
history  in  Great  Britain,  where  it  has  long  been  recog- 
nized as  a  leading  factor  in  the  mechanism  of  political 
life,  and  of  parliamentary  and  local  government.  It  has 
often  been  said  that  England  is  governed  by  discussion; 
and  the  two  established  forms  of  discussion  are  the  press 
and  the  platform,  around  both  of  which  constitutional 
guarantees  have  been  created. 

We  have  come  to  be  a  nation  of  two  dwellers  by  a  very 
rapid  process  of  industrial  evolution.  Relatively  speak- 
ing, the  country  districts  seem  neglected  and  lonesome. 
It  is  more  important,  therefore,  to  sustain  in  the  country 
districts  the  custom  of  assembly  and  public  speech. 
Every  rural  neighborhood  should  have  its  auditorium 
associated  with  a  consolidated  school.  The  auditorium 
should  be  constantly  used  for  instructive  and  entertain- 
ing lectures  or  political  discussion,  for  promotion  of 
improved  agriculture  and  neighborhood  life,  for  educa- 

*From  the  News  Letter  published  by  the  University  of  Virginia, 
Reprinted  by  permission. 


172  AMEEICANIZATION 

tional  "movies,"  and  for  social  gatherings  of  the  art  of 
speaking. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  does  Mr.  Shaw  mean  by  "the  platform"?    2.    How 
can  pubHc  speaking  improve  agriculture?    3.    What  sort  of 
"movies"  should  we  aim  to  have? 


GOVERNMENT   BY   PUBLIC    OPINION* 
E.  D.  Shurter 

An  indispensable  qualification  for  social  service  is, 
that  a  good  citizen  should  aid  in  the  formation  and 
guidance  of  public  opinion.  And  let  us  ever  remember 
that  if  we  are  in  reality  a  self-governing  people,  if  we 
really  have  a  government  by  the  people,  it  is  by  that 
token,  a  government  of  public  opinion.  Public  opinion, 
after  all,  is  our  real  governor  and  legislature,  our  real 
congress  and  president.  We  have  such  laws  as  public 
opinion  demands,  and  we  are  governed  by  such  laws  as 
public  opinion  chooses  to  enforce. 

The  morality  of  the  greater  number  is  the  only  resource 
by  which  liberty  can  live  in  a  democracy.  We  must 
therefore  have  an  alliance  of  our  effort  for  the  best  and 
highest  things — this  is  our  duty  as  patriots  and  citizens. 
You  start  out  with  an  idea  that  you  firmly  believe  is  for 
the  good  of  your  community,  your  state,  or  your 
nation.  You  may  start  alone.  Presently  you  get 
another  citizen  thinking  the  same  way.  What  you  and 
he  think  is  in  the  end  more  powerful  than  all  the  material 
forces  of  the  universe,  for  what  you  and  he  and  another 
and  another  think,  is  public  opinion.  It  has  been  said 
that,  "Whenever  you  meet  a  dozen  earnest  men  pledged 

*In  part  adapted  from  various  sources. 


GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS  173 

to  a  new  idea,  you  meet  the  beginning  of  a  new  revolu- 
tion." This  public  opinion  is  not  substantial,  it  is  not 
palpable,  it  may  not  readily  be  translated  into  terms  of 
money  or  power  or  vital  force,  but  it  crushes  all  these 
things  before  it.  You  may  found  your  institutions,  as 
has  eloquently  been  said,  upon  injustice  and  wrong  and 
oppression,  but  in  the  course  of  time  the  pulse  beat  of  a 
true-hearted  girl  may  wear  them  down. 

And  so  this  intangible  thing  we  call  public  opinion 
crushes  all  things  before  it.  When  it  rises  sure  and  firm 
and  strong,  no  material  force  on  this  earth  can  stop  it. 
For  a  time  it  may  be  dammed  and  checked;  for  a  day  or 
a  week  or  a  decade  it  may  be  turned  from  its  channel,  yet 
money  cannot  hold  it,  arm  cannot  hold  it,  cunning  can- 
not baffle  it.  For  it  is  God  moving  among  men.  Thus 
he  manifests  himself  in  this  earth.  Through  the  cen- 
turies, amid  the  storm  and  stress  of  time,  often  muffled, 
often  strangled,  often  incoherent,  often  inarticulate  with 
anguish,  but  always  in  the  end  triumphant,  the  voice  of 
the  people  is  indeed  the  voice  of  God.  And  so,  whether 
we  like  speech-making  or  not,  let  us  not  underrate  the 
value  and  the  influence  of  free  and  untrammeled  public 
discussion.  For  just  in  proportion  to  the  freedom  of  our 
institutions  is  the  need  of  men  in  every  community  who 
can  stand  on  their  own  feet  and  think,  who  believe  in  the 
right  and  fear  not  to  speak  their  honest  convictions,  who 
stand  outside  of  party  and  beyond  the  influence  of  the 
press,  outside  of  the  clamor  of  the  mob  or  of  the  moment, 
and  who  are  able  and  willing  to  tear  a  question  open  and 
let  the  light  through  it. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Give  examples  of  the  force  of  public  opinion.    2.    How 
can  public  opinion  in  your  community  be  influenced  to  accom- 
plish certain  needed  reforms? 


174  AMERICANIZATION 

AMERICAN  CHARACTER* 
Brander  Matthews 

According  to  the  theory  of  the  conservation  of  energy, 
there  ought  to  be  about  as  much  virtue  in  the  world  at 
one  time  as  at  another.  According  to  the  theory  of  the 
survival  of  the  fittest,  there  ought  to  be  a  little  more  now 
than  there  was  a  century  ago.  We  Americans  to-day 
have  our  faults,  and  they  are  abundant  enough  and 
blatant  enough,  and  foreigners  take  care  that  we  shall 
not  overlook  them;  but  our  ethical  standard — however 
imperfectly  we  may  attain  to  it — is  higher  than  that  of 
the  Greeks  under  Pericles,  of  the  Romans  under  Caesar, 
of  the  English  under  Elizabeth.  It  is  higher  even  than 
that  of  our  forefathers  who  established  our  freedom,  as 
those  know  best  who  have  most  carefully  inquired  into 
the  inner  history  of  the  American  Revolution.  In 
nothing  was  our  advance  more  striking  than  after  the 
Revolution  and  after  the  Civil  War.  When  we  made  our 
peace  with  the  British  the  native  Tories  were  proscribed, 
and  thousands  of  loyalists  left  the  United  States  to  carry 
into  Canada  the  indurated  hatred  of  the  exiled.  But 
after  Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox,  no  body  of  men,  no 
single  man  indeed,  was"  driven  forth  to  live  an  alien  for 
the  rest  of  his  days;  even  though  a  few  might  choose  to 
go,  none  was  compelled. 

This  change  of  conduct  on  the  part  of  those  who  were 
victors  in  the  struggle  was  evidence  of  an  increasing 
sympathy.  Not  only  is  sectionalism  disappearing,  but 
with  it  is  departing  the  feeling  that  really  underlies  it — 
the  distrust  of  those  who  dwell  elsewhere  than  where  we 
do.     This  distrust  is  common  all  over  Europe  to-day. 

*From  The  American  of  the  Future  and  Other  Essays.  (Copyright, 
1909,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons.)     Reprinted  by  permission. 


FRANK  TRUMBULL  175 

Here  in  America  it  has  yielded  to  a  friendly  neighborli- 
ness  which  makes  the  family  from  Portland,  Maine,  soon 
•find  itself  at  home  in  Portland,  Oregon.  It  is  getting 
hard  for  us  to  hate  anybody — especially  since  we  have 
disestablished  the  devil.  We  are  good-natured  and  easy- 
going. Herbert  Spencer  even  denounced  this  as  our 
immediate  danger,  maintaining  that  we  were  too  good- 
natured,  too  easy-going,  too  tolerant  of  evil;  and  he 
insisted  that  we  needed  to  strengthen  our  wills  to  protest 
against  wrong,  to  wrestle  with  it  resolutely,  and  to  over- 
come it  before  it  is  firmly  rooted. 

We  are  kindly  and  we  are  helpful;  and  we  are  fixed 
in  the  belief  that  somehow  everything  will  work  out  all 
right  in  the  long  run.  But  nothing  will  work  out  all 
right  unless  we  so  make  it  work;  and  excessive  optimism 
may  be  as  corrupting  to  the  fiber  of  the  people  as  "the 
Sabbathless  pursuit  of  fortune,"  as  Bacon  termed  it. 
Mr.  James  Bryce,  has  recently  pointed  out  that  the 
intelligent  native  American  has — and  by  experience  he  is 
justified  in  having — a  firm  conviction  that  the  majority 
of  qualified  voters  are  pretty  sure  to  be  right. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  was  the  position  of  the  Greeks  under  Pericles? 
Of  the  Romans  under  Caesar?    Of  the  English  under  Elizabeth? 
2.    Why  is  our  ethical  standard  higher? 

COOPERATION   WITH    THE    MAN    LOWER 

DOWN* 

Frank  Trumbull 

The  word  Americanism  may  be  a  very  inclusive  term, 

*Extract  from  a  speech  delivered  before  the  New  England  Society, 
in  the  City  of  New  York,  December  22,  1916.  Used  by  permission 
of  the  author. 


176  AMEEICANIZATION 

but  it  involves  two  or  three  concrete  things  which  I  shall 
mention.  First,  free  education,  but  we  have  so  long 
ago  adopted  it  that  we  have  quit  talking  about  it,  except 
to  boast.  There  are  thousands  of  workmen  in  this 
country  who  cannot  understand  a  command  given  in 
English.  The  learninp*  of  English  diminishes  misunder- 
standings not  only  between  employers  and  employees, 
but  in  hundreds  of  other  ways.  We  want  them  to  learn 
English,  not  because  it  is  the  best  language  in  the  world, 
but  because  it  is  our  currency  of  thought. 

Second,  we  should  have  American  standards  of  living. 
These  people  are  usually  segregated,  and  unless  they 
are  well  housed  the  community  and  the  State  inevitably 
lose  greatly  in  efficiency,  and  community  health  is 
endangered. 

Third,  we  should  fit  them  for  becoming  real  citizens. 
It  is  to  our  interest  in  every  way  that  having  cast  in  their 
lot  with  us,  they  shall  know  more  about  our  institutions 
and  what  a  beneficial  thing  it  is  to  become  a  citizen. 

Thirteen  million  of  our  people  are  foreign  born  and 
ten  million  are  negroes.  Shall  we  be  able  to  compete 
with  the  reorganized  countries  of  Europe  if  we  permit 
these  twenty-three  million  people  to  be  inefficient?  The 
talk  of  the  hour  is  "Efficiency!  Efficiency!"  But  more 
than  that  we  want  not  only  forty-eight  States  under  one 
flag,  but  we  want  one  hundred  million  united  people — 
united  for  everything  that  will  make  America  the  best 
place  in  the  world  to  live  in,  as  well  as  the  best  place  to 
make  money  in;  and  a  country  loved  and  respected  by  all 
who  dwell  in  it.  It  is  a  day  for  releasing  great  construc- 
tive forces — humanics  as  well  as  mechanics. 

Not  long  ago  I  heard  this  story  told  in  a  most  appealing 
way:  one  day  a  woman  was  sitting  on  the  veranda  of  a 
hotel  in  Switzerland.  She  had  a  field  glass  in  her  hand 
and  was  looking  upon  a  group  of  mountain  climbers  who 


HUGH  WILEY  177 

were  climbing  one  of  the  most  difficult  peaks.  Suddenly 
she  shrieked  aloud,  dropped  the  glasses  to  the  floor,  and 
fell  in  a  swoon.  A  gentleman  ran  quickly  to  her  side, 
picked  up  the  glasses,  and  looked  upon  the  scene.  He 
saw  four  men  making  a  struggle  to  climb  the  mountain. 
One  had  driven  the  axe  into  the  side  of  the  mountain 
and  was  safely  at  the  top.  Beneath  him  were  three 
others,  one  of  whom  was  desperately  clinging  to  the 
edge  of  a  rock,  the  other  two  dangling  in  the  air,  when 
suddenly  the  rope  gave  way,  parted  between  the  top 
man  and  the  three  below,  and  the  three  men  in  turmoil 
and  confusion  fell  thousands  of  feet  into  the  deep  ravine 
to  death.  That  afternoon  they  brought  in  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  men.  The  next  morning  the  man  who  was 
at  the  top  came  into  the  hotel,  and  when  they  saw  him 
women  and  children  moved  away  from  him.  At  length 
he  met  a  gentleman  in  the  smoking-room  and  said  to 
him,  "No  one  has  spoken  to  me.  What  is  the  matter?" 
The  gentleman  replied,  "Excuse  me,  but  if  you  want  to 
know,  we  found  that  the  rope  was  cut.'' 

My  friends,  do  not  cut  the  rope  that  holds  the  man 
lower  down. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Why  may  every  illiterate  person  become  a  menace  to  our 
government?    2.     Should  we  not  assist  the  immigrant,  for  our 
own  account  if  for  no  worthier  motive,  to  better  his  condition 
of  life?    Why? 

WORK  OR  DIE* 
Hugh  Wiley 
In  the  complex  organization  which  we  call  society  we 
have  lost  sight  of  the  simple  business  of  life.    We  say  that 

*Repriiited  from  The  Saturday  Evening  Post.    Copyrighted,  1920, 
by  The  Curtis  Publishing  Company,  Philadelphia. 


178  AMERICANIZATION 

life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  are  three  inher- 
ent rights  of  the  individual.  Life  is  a  good  thing,  but 
the  fact  of  our  being  born  into  this  world  does  not  give 
us  the  right  to  life.  The  world  is  beautiful.  The  scheme 
of  life  is  good,  but  we  enjoy  title  to  life  only  in  so  far  as 
we  pay  the  unit  installments;  only  as  we  meet  our  obliga- 
tions from  day  to  day  and  from  year  to  year  until  life  is 
done.  The  one  appropriate  currency  with  which  to  pay 
for  life  is  work.  Man  is  capable  of  transforming  the  fuel 
of  food  into  energy  and  work.  We  can  buy  the  right  to 
live  with  a  proper  daily  expenditure  of  useful  work. 
The  individual  who  does  not  pay  the  price  of  life  has  no 
right  to  it. 

Brains  have  respect  for  muscle  and  muscle  has  respect 
for  brains.  A  man  who  spends  his  strength  in  useful 
work  gets  from  his  work  something  besides  the  silver  of 
his  daily  wage.  Work  is  enjoyable  and  beautiful,  and 
men  who  have  worked  know  this.  Fatigue  that  fol- 
lows effort  is  the  reward  that  answers  the  question  of 
the  day:    ^'What  have  I  done  to  earn  life?" 

The  United  States  is  composed  of  parasites  and  pro- 
ducers. The  people  of  a  nation  are  all  consumers. 
They  must  eat.  In  a  community  where  all  men  are 
consumers  and  one-half  of  them  are  producers  it  follows 
that  each  producer  is  sustaining  his  own  life  and  the  life 
of  one  parasite. 

Society  is  made  up  of  men,  women  and  children.  Men 
and  women  must  work.  In  the  United  States  only  a 
small  percentage  of  men  and  women  do  work.  When 
every  man  and  every  woman  works  the  high  cost  of 
living,  political  disorder,  strikes  and  all  the  phenomena  of 
social  unrest  will  be  at  an  end.  Work  is  the  cure.  It  is 
the  only  cure. 

The  final  rewards  for  work  performed  are  delayed  by  a 


HUGH  WILEY  179 

hundred  foolish  afflictions  which  society  suffers  to-day. 
Most  of  these  would  disappear  if  men  would  work. 
Most  of  the  ills  which  now  affect  the  workers  of  a  popula- 
tion would  disappear  if  men  who  work  would  learn  the 
real  reward  of  effort.  Not  many  laborers  or  mechanics 
or  professional  men  carry  with  them  the  realization  that 
their  work  is  something  more  than  a  means  of  obtaining 
cash  with  which  to  buy  the  things  essential  to  their 
lives.  The  man  who  works  is  bound  by  an  obligation 
greater  than  his  contract  with  his  employer.  He  is 
bound  by  his  debt  for  life  received.  Not  many  men 
realize  this  obligation.  Until  men  discover  that  they 
must  buy  the  right  to  live  with  the  coin  of  sweat  they 
will  continue  to  side-step  the  obligation  of  delivering  a 
day^s  work  in  return  for  their  wages. 

The  first  need  in  the  government  of  the  United  States 
is  a  first-class  business  man  for  President  and  a  group  of 
assistants  such  as  any  first-class  business  man  would 
surround  himself  with.  The  United  States  is  a  good 
place  to  live  in,  but  a  business  administration  could 
improve  it  a  million  per  cent.  The  people  of  the  United 
States  have  much  to  learn.  Experience  is  a  great 
teacher,  but  unfortunately  experience  dies  with  the 
individual.  We  persist  in  neglecting  to  take  advantage 
of  the  knowledge  which  can  be  gained  from  other  men's 
experiments  and  other  men's  mistakes.  With  our  own 
hands  we  must  pick  up  a  live  wire  before  we  can  appre- 
ciate the  kick  that  can  exist  in  unseen  forces. 

There  is  salvation  in  the  fact  that  the  moral  instinct 
exists  in  every  man.  With  it  is  an  ambition  for  the  good 
things  of  life.  Work  is  the  one  agency  through  which 
these  things  may  be  enjoyed.  Work  will  buy  life  and 
happiness. 

On  the  day  that  all  men  sense  the  moral  obligation 


180  AMERICA]SriZATIO:N' 

which  demands  that  they  shall  pay  in  honest  useful  work 
the  price  of  life  they  will  know  contentment.  An  appro- 
priate expenditure  of  brain  or  muscle  is  the  price  of  life. 
There  is  no  honest  alternative.     Work  or  die. 

THE  AMERICAN  MIND* 
Henry  Seidel  Canby 

The  great  Americans  of  the  past  have  nearly  all  been 
conservative-liberals.  Washington  was  a  great  republi- 
can; he  was  also  essentially  an  aristocrat  in  social  and 
economic  relations,  who  kept  slaves  and  did  not  believe 
in  universal  suffrage.  Lincoln,  pohtically  was  the 
greatest  of  English-speaking  democrats,  but  he  let  the 
privileged  classes  exploit  the  workingman  and  the 
soldier,  partly  in  order  to  win  the  war,  chiefly  because 
problems  of  wages  and  unearned  increments  and  eco- 
nomic privilege  generally  did  not  enter  into  his  scheme  of 
democracy.  Roosevelt  fought  a  good  fight  for  the 
square  deal  in  public  and  private  life,  but  hesitated  and 
at  last  turned  back  when  it  became  evident  that  a  deal 
that  was  completely  square  meant  the  overturning  of 
social  life  as  we  knew  and  loved  it  in  America. 

And  these  men  we  feel  were  right.  Their  duty  was 
to  make  possible  a  good  government  and  a  stable  society, 
and  they  worked  not  with  theories  only,  but  also  with 
facts  as  they  were.  The  Germans  have  argued  that  the 
first  duty  of  the  state  is  self-preservation,  and  that 
rights  of  individual  men  and  other  states  may  properly 
be  crushed  in  order  to  preserve  it.  We  have  crushed  the 
Germans  and,  one  hopes,  their  philosophy.  But  no 
one  doubts  that  it  is  a  duty  of  society  to  preserve  itself. 
No  one  beUeves  that  universal  suffrage  for  all,  negroes 

♦From  the  Century  Magazine,  July,  1919.  Reprinted  by  per- 
mission of  the  author. 


HENRY  SEIDEL  CANBY  181 

included,  would  have  been  advisable  in  Washington's 
day,  when  republicanism  was  still  an  experiment.  No 
one  believes,  I  fancy,  that  the  minimum  wage,  the 
inheritance  tax,  and  cooperative  management  should 
have  had  first  place,  or  indeed  any  place,  in  the  mind  of 
Lincoln  of  1863.  Few  suppose  that  Roosevelt  as  a 
socialist  would  have  been  as  useful  to  his  United  States 
as  Roosevelt  the  Progressive,  with  a  back-throw  toward 
the  ideals  of  the  aristocratic  state;  as  Roosevelt  the 
conservative-liberal. 

Thus  the  American  mind  is  worth  troubling  about; 
and  if  politically,  socially,  economically  the  spirit  that 
we  and  the  foreigners  call  American  has  become  stagnant 
in  its  liberalism,  it  is  time  to  awake.  In  Hberalism  inheres 
our  vitality,  our  initiative,  our  strength.  Its  stagna- 
tion, its  inertia,  its  blindness  to  the  new  waves  of  freedom 
sweeping  upward  from  the  masses  and  on  in  broken  and 
muddy  torrents  through  the  world  are  poignant  dangers. 
We  must  open  eyes;  we  must  change  our  ground;  we 
must  fight  the  evil  in  the  new  revolution,  but  welcome 
the  good.  Our  own  revolution  hes  before  the  deluge; 
it  is  no  longer  enough  to  go  on;  it  is  not  now  the  sufficing 
document  of  a  political  philosophy.  We  must  not  stop 
with  Washington  and  Lincoln.  We  must  go  on  where 
.the  conservative  Washington  and  the  radical  Lincoln 
would  lead  if  they  were  our  contemporaries.  Radical- 
conservatism  is  good,  and  Toryism  or  radicalism  have 
their  uses;  but  conservative-liberalism,  preserved,  desic- 
cated museum  liberalism,  long  continued  in,  is  death  to 
the  minds  that  maintain  it. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  liberal  ideas  have  been  advanced  in  recent  years 
by  Wm.  J.  Bryan,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Henry  Ford,  Louis  F. 
Post? 


182  AMERICANIZATION 

THE  SCHOLAR  IN  A  REPUBLIC 

Wendell  Phillips 

Gibbon  says  we  have  two  educations,  one  from 
teachers,  and  the  other  we  give  ourselves.  This  last  is 
the  real  and  only  education  of  the  masses — one  gotten 
from  life,  from  affairs,  from  earning  one's  bread;  neces- 
sity, the  mother  of  invention;  responsibility,  that 
teaches  prudence,  and  inspires  respect  for  right. 

Anacharsis  v^ent  into  the  Archon's  court  of  Athens, 
heard  a  case  argued  by  the  great  men  of  that  city,  and 
saw  the  vote  by  five  hundred  men.  Walking  in  the 
streets,  someone  asked  him,  ''What  do  you  think  of 
Athenian  liberty?"  *'  I  think,"  said  he, ''  wise  men  argue 
cases,  and  fools  decide  them."  Just  what  that  timid 
scholar,  two  thousand  years  ago,  said  in  the  streets  of 
Athens,  that  v^hich  calls  itseli  scholarship  here  says 
to-day  of  popular  agitation — that  it  lets  wise  men  argue 
questions  and  fools  decide  them.  God  lent  to  Athens 
the  largest  intellects,  and  it  flashes  to-day  the  torch 
that  gilds  yet  the  mountain  peaks  of  the  Old  World; 
while  Egypt,  the  hunker  conservative  of  antiquity, 
where  nobody  dared  to  differ  from  the  priest  or  to  be 
wiser  than  his  grandfather;  where  men  pretended  to  be 
alive,  though  swaddled  in  the  graveclothes  of  creed  and. 
custom  as  close  as  their  mummies  were  in  linen — that 
Egypt  is  hid  in  the  tomb  it  inhabited,  and  the  intellect 
Athens  has  trained  for  us  digs  to-day  those  ashes  to  find 
out  how  buried  and  forgotten  hunkerism  lived  and  acted. 

I  urge  on  college-bred  men  that,  as  a  class,  they  fail  in 
republican  duty  when  they  allow  others  to  lead  in  the 
agitation  of  the  great  social  questions  which  stir  and 
educate  the  age.    Agitation  is  an  old  word  with  a  new 


WENDELL  PHILLIPS  183 

meaning.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  the  first  English  leader  who 
felt  himself  its  tool,  defined  it  to  be  "marshalling  the 
conscience  of  a  nation  to  mould  its  laws.''  Its  means  are 
reason  and  argument — no  appeal  to  arms.  Wait 
patiently  for  the  growth  of  public  opinion.  That 
secured,  then  every  step  taken  is  taken  forever.  An 
abuse  once  removed  never  reappears  in  history.  The 
freer  a  nation  becomes,  the  more  utterly  democratic  in 
its  form,  the  more  need  of  this  outside  agitation.  Parties 
and  sects,  laden  with  the  burden  of  securing  their  own 
success,  cannot  afford  to  risk  new  ideas.  "Predominant 
opinions,"  said  Disraeli,  "are  the  opinions  of  a  class  that 
is  vanishing."  The  agitator  must  stand  outside  of 
organization,  with  no  bread  to  earn,  no  candidate  to 
elect,  no  party  to  save,  no  object  but  truth — ever  ready 
to  tear  a  question  open  and  riddle  it  with  light. 

To  be  as  good  as  our  fathers  v^e  must  be  better.  They 
silenced  their  fears  and  subdued  their  prejudices, 
inaugurating  free  speech  and  equality  with  no  precedent 
on  the  file.  Europe  shouted  "Madmen!"  and  gave  us 
forty  years  for  the  shipwreck.  With  serene  faith  they 
persevered.     Let  us  rise  to  their  level. 

Sit  not,  like  the  figure  on  our  silver  coin,  looking  ever 
backward. 

"New  occasions  teach  new  duties; 
Time  makes  ancient  good  imcouth; 
They  must  upward  still,  and  onward, 
Who  would  keep  abreast  of  Truth. 
Lo!  before  us  gleam  her  camp-fires! 
We  ourselves  must  Pilgrims  be, 
Launch  our  Mayflower,  and  steer  boldly 
Through  the  desperate  winter  sea, 
Nor  attempt  the  Future's  portal 
With  the  Past's  blood-rusted  key." 


1^4  AMERICANIZATION 

Questions  and  Exekcises 
1.     Is  not  the  word  ''gotten"  obsolete?    Consult  your  dic- 
tionary as  to  its  use.     2.     What  is  the  meaning  of  "hunker"? 
3.    How  long  was  slavery  agitated  in  the  United  States  before 
the  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  issued? 


THE  EDUCATED  MAN  AND  THE 
DEMOCRATIC  IDEALS* 

Charles  E.  Hughes 

It  is  of  first  importance  that  there  should  be  sympathy 
with  democratic  ideals.  I  do  not  refer  to  the  conven- 
tional attitude  commonly  assumed  in  American  utter- 
ances and  ajways  taken  on  patriotic  occasions.  I  mean 
the  sincere  love  of  democracy.  As  Montesquieu  says : 
*'A  love  of  the  republic  in  a  democracy  is  a  love  of  the 
democracy;  as  the  latter  is  that  of  equality.'' 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  an  association  in  which 
wealth,  or  family,  or  station  are  of  less  consequence, 
and  in  which  a  young  man  is  appraised  more  nearly  at 
his  actual  worth,  than  in  an  American  college.  Despite 
the  increase  of  luxury  in  college  living,  the,  number  of 
rich  men's  sons  who  frequent  these  institutions,  and  the 
amount  of  money  lavishly  and  foolishly  expended,  our 
colleges  are  still  wholesomely  democratic.  A  young 
man  who  is  decent,  candid,  and  honorable  in  his  dealings 
will  not  suffer  because  he  is  poor,  or  his  parents  are 
obscure,  and  the  fact  that  he  may  earn  his  living  in 
humble  employment  in  order  to  pay  for  his  education 
will  not  cost  him  the  esteem  of  his  fellows.  He  will  be 
rated,  as  the  rich  man's  son  will  be  rated,  at  the  worth 
of  his  character,  judged  by  the  standards  of  youth  which 

*From  Conditions  of  Progress  in  Democratic  Government,  Yale 
University  Press,  1910.    Reprinted  by  permission. 


CHARLES  E.  HUGHES  185 

maintain  truth  and  fair  dealing  and  will  not  tolerate 
cant  or  sham.  This  is  so  largely  true  that  it  may  be 
treated  as  the  rule,  and  regrettable  departures  from  it  as 
the  exception. 

But  a  larger  sympathy  and  appreciation  are  needed. 
The  young  man  who  goes  out  into  life  favot"ably  disposed 
toward  those  who  have  had  much  the  same  environment 
and  opportunity  may  still  be  lacking  in  the  broader 
sympathy  which  should  embrace  all  his  fellow  country- 
men. He  may  be  tolerant  and  democratic  with  respect 
to  those  who,  despite  differences  in  birth  and  fortune, 
he  may  regard  as  kindred  spirits,  and  yet  in  his  relation 
to  men  at  large,  to  the  great  majority  of  his  fellow  beings, 
be  little  better  than  a  snob.  Or  despite  the  camaraderie 
of  college  intercourse  he  may  have  developed  a  cynical 
disposition  or  an  intellectual  aloofness,  which  while  not 
marked  enough  to  interfere  with  success  in  many  voca- 
tions, or  to  disturb  his  conventional  relations,  largely 
disqualifies  him  from  aiding  his  community  as  a  public- 
spirited  citizen.  The  primary  object  of  education  is  to 
emancipate;  to  free  from  superstition,  from  the  tyranny 
of  worn-out  notions,  from  the  prejudices,  large  and  small, 
which  enslave  the  judgment.  His  study  of  history  and 
of  the  institutions  of  his  country  has  been  to  little  pur- 
pose if  the  college  man  has  not  caught  the  vision  of 
democracy  and  has  not  been  joined  by  the  troth  of  heart 
and  conscience  to  the  great  human  brotherhood  which 
is  working  out  its  destiny  in  this  land  of  opportunity. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Why  do  more  poor  boys  go  to  our  state  universities  than 
to  the  large  eastern  universities?  2.  Who  is  Charles  E. 
Hughes? 


186  AMEEICANIZATION 

THE  PILGRIMS^  RELIGION  AS  A  GUIDE  FOR 
TO-DAY* 

GusTAv  A.  Carstensen 

Guizot  has  said  that  democracy  came  into  Europe  in 
the  little  boat  which  brought  St.  Paul.  Even  so  the 
charter  framed  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower  for  the 
government  of  the  Pilgrim  Colony  has  been  the  corner- 
stone of  American  liberty  and  the  inspiration  of  liberal- 
izing governments  all  over  the  world.  The  fathers  are 
gone;  but  their  children  are  * 'princes  in  all  the  earth.'' 
It  is  a  commonplace  of  history  that  the  basic  principle  of 
our  government  is  that  of  the  New  England  town- 
meeting;  and  it  is  just  as  true  that  the  power  behind 
that  great  Puritan  movement  which  Carlyle  called  "the 
last  great  heroism  of  the  world"  was  the  Bible.  The 
power  which  shattered  the  absolutism  of  the  Stuarts 
was  the  power  which  struck  Plymouth  Rock  and  made 
it  the  American  Horeb.  Herein  lay  the  inherent  strength 
of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 

A  world  which  is  burdened  with  sin  and  groaning  in 
misery  will  not  be  helped  by  any  system  which  evaporates 
in  sentiment  or  crystalizes  in  selfishness,  or  caters  to 
human  weaknesses.  What  we  admire  and  need  to 
emulate  in  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  is  their  sturdy  devotion 
and  singleness  of  purpose  which  never  encountered 
obstacles  but  to  conquer  them,  and  their  unflinching 
loyalty  to  the  truth  as  they  understood  it.  No  perilous 
voyage  over  a  dreary  waste  of  ocean,  no  struggle  with 
cold  and  hunger  and  illness  and  death,  no  dangers  of 
marauding  savages  confront  us  but  we  are  beset  with 
perils  just  as  real  and  more  insidious:  the  peril  of  self- 

*From  a  sermon  preached  at  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  on 
Sunday,  December  21,  1919. 


GUSTAV  A.  CAESTENSEN  187 

seeking;  the  peril  of  cowardly  compromise;  the  peril 
of  easy-going  indifference;  the  peril  of  a  blind  optimism 
without  reason  and  without  objective  which  means 
complacent  idleness. 

The  world  is  hungry  for  what  real  Christianity  has 
to  give  and  what  it  has  a  right  to  expect  of  us — the  reality 
of  himian  fellowship,  the  highest  and  best  of  human  cul- 
ture, the  safest  and  sanest  scheme  of  human  living. 
That  is  the  "Gospel  of  the  Secular  Life."  It  does  not 
guarantee  protection  against  earthquake,  fire  and  flood; 
it  does  not  insure  success  in  business,  or  social  standing. 
It  may  not  raise  a  crop  or  even  fill  a  church.  It  does  not 
promise  immunity  from  hell  fire,  nor  guarantee  a  blissful 
self-satisfying  heaven.  It  makes  no  appeal  to  men 
absorbed  in  money  grabbing  amusements,  politics, 
socialism,  Bolshevism  or  anything  which  promises  only 
material  gain.  The  uncompromising  cross  looms  up 
before  men  and  summons  them  to  self -surrender  and 
sacrifice  and  service  as  it  never  has  before.  I  invoke 
that  spirit  which  your  fathers'  bequeathed  to  you;  the 
spirit  of  that  soldier  of  Bennington  who  said,  "Boys,  we 
win  this  battle,  or  to-night  MoUie  Stark  sleeps  a  widow." 
I  invoke  the  spirit  of  the  old  Quaker  poet  who  fought  to 
kill  black  slavery  and  when  his  earthly  course  was 
nearly  done  sat  in  his  house  at  Danvers  and  wrote: 

"And  so  beside  the  silent  sea 

I  wait  the  muffled  oar; 
No  harm  from  Him  can  come  to  me 

On  ocean  or  on  shore. 

"I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 

Their  fronded  palms  in  air, 
I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 

Beyond  His  love  and  care." 


188  AMERICAOTZATION 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.     Is  the  author  of  this  selection  as  specific  as  he  might 
be?    2.     Does  he  not  deal  in  "glittering  generalities"? 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT  ON 

AMERICA* 

Walter  Edward  Weyl 

We  must  not  forget  that  these  men  and  women  who 
file  through  the  narrow  gates  at  Ellis  Island,  hopeful, 
confused,  with  bundles  of  misconceptions  as  heavy  as 
the  great  sacks  upon  their  backs — we  must  not  forget 
that  these  simple,  rough-handed  people  are  the  ancestors 
of  our  descendants,  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  our 
children. 

So  it  has  been  from  the  beginning.  For  a  century  a 
swelling  human  stream  has  poured  across  the  ocean, 
fleeing  from  poverty  in  Europe  to  a  change  in  America. 
Englishman,  Welshman,  Scotchman,  Irishman,  German, 
Swede,  Norwegian,  Jew,  Italian,  Bohemian,  Serb, 
Syrian,  Hungarian,  Pole,  Greek — one  race  after  another 
has  knocked  at  our  doors,  been  given  admittance,  has 
married  us  and  begot  our  children.  We  could  not  have 
told  by  looking  at  them  whether  they  were  to  be  good 
or  bad  progenitors,  for  racially  the  cabin  is  not  above 
the  steerage,  and  dirt,  like  poverty  and  ignorance,  is  but 
skin-deep.  A  few  years,  and  the  stain  of  travel  has  left 
the  immigrant's  cheek ;  a  few  years,  and  he  loses  the  odor 
of  alien  soils;  a  generation  or  two,  and  these  outlanders 
are  irrevocably  our  race,  our  nation,  our  stock. 

That  stock,  a  little  over  a  century  ago,  was  almost 
pure  British.  True,  Albany  was  Dutch,  and  many  of 
the  signs  in  the  Philadelphia  streets  were  in  the  German 
language.  Nevertheless,  five-sixths  of  all  the  family 
names  collected  in  1790  by  the  census  authorities  were 

*By  permission  of  Mrs.  Walter  E.  Weyl. 


WALTEE  EDWARD  WEYL  189 

pure  English,  and  over  nine-tenths  were  British.  Despite 
the  presence  of  Germans,  Dutch,  French  and  Negroes, 
the  American  was  essentially  an  Englishman  once 
removed,  an  Englishman  stuffed  with  English  traditions, 
prejudices,  and  stubbornnesses,  reading  English  books, 
speaking  English  dialects,  practising  English  law  and 
English  evasions  of  the  law,'  and  hating  England  with 
a  truly  English  hatred.  In  all  but  a  political  sense 
America  was  still  one  of  *'His  Majesty's  dominions 
beyond  the  sea."  Even  after  immigration  poured  in 
upon  us,  the  English  stock  was  strong  enough  to  impress 
upon  the  immigrating  races  its  language,  laws,  and 
customs.  Nevertheless,  the  incoming  millions  pro- 
foundly altered  our  racial  structure.  To-day  over 
thirty-two  million  Americans  are  either  foreign-born 
or  of  foreign  parentage.  No  longer  an  Anglo-Saxon 
cousin,  America  has  become  the  most  composite  of 
nations. 

America  to-day  is  in  transition.  We  have  moved 
rapidly  from  one  industrial  world  to  another,  and  this 
progress  has  been  aided  and  stimulated  by  immigration. 
The  psychological  change,  however,  which  should  have 
kept  pace  with  this  industrial  transition,  has  been  slower 
and  less  complete.  It  has  been  retarded  by  the  very 
rapidity  of  our  immigration  and  by  the  tremendous 
educational  tasks  which  that  influx  placed  upon  us. 
The  immigrant  is  a  challenge  to  our  highest  idealism, 
but  the  task  of  Americanizijig  che  extra  millions  of  new- 
comers has  hindered  pi  ogress  in  the  task  of  democratiz- 
ing America. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Is  there  a  settlement  of  foreign-bom  people  near  your 
home?  2.  Is  your  attitude  toward  them  friendly  and  helpful? 
3.    What  do  you  believe  to  be  your  duty  in  regard  to  them? 


190  AMEEICANIZATION 

CAN  DEMOCRACY  BE  ORGANIZED?* 
Edwin  A.  Alderman 

In  order  to  organize  an  autocracy,  the  rulers  ordain 
that  it  shall  get  in  order  and  provide  the  means  to  bring 
about  that  end.  To  organize  a  democracy,  we  must 
organize  its  soul,  and  give  it  power  to  create  its  own 
ideals.  It  is  primarily  a  peace  organization,  and  that 
is  proof  that  it  is  the  forward  movement  of  the  human 
soul  and  not  the  movement  of  scientific  reaction.  It  is 
through  a  severe  mental  training  in  our  schools  and  a 
return  to  the  conception  of  public  duty  which  guided  the 
sword  and  uplifted  the  heart  of  the  Founder  of  the 
RepubHc  that  we  shall  find  strength  to  organize  the 
democracy  of  the  future,  revolutionized  by  science  and 
by  urban  life. 

The  right  to  vote  implies  the  duty  to  vote  right;  the 
right  to  legislate,  the  duty  to  legislate  justly;  the  right 
to  judge  about  foreign  policy,  the  duty  to  fight  if  neces- 
sary; the  right  to  come  to  college,  the  duty  to  carry  one's 
self  handsomely  at  college.  Our  youth  must  be  taught 
to  use  their  senses,  to  reason  simply  and  correctly,  from 
exact  knowledge  thus  brought  to  them  to  attain  to 
sincerity  in  thought  and  judgment  through  work  and 
patience.  In  our  home  and  civic  life,  we  need  some 
moral  equivalent  for  the  training  which  somehow  issues 
out  of  war — the  glory  of  self-sacrifice,  obedience  to  just 
authority,  contempt  of  ease,  and  a  realization  that 
through  thoughtful,  collective  effort  great  results  will  be 
obtained.  A  great  spiritual  glory  will  come  to  these 
European  nations  through  their  sorrow  and  striving 
which  will  express  itself  in  great  poems  and  great  litera- 

*North  Carolina  Literary  and  Historical  Society,  November  9, 
1915.    Reprinted  by  permission  of  the  author. 


"THE  LITERARY  DIGEST"  191 

ture.  They  are  preparing  new  shrines  at  which  man- 
kind will  worship.  Let  us  take  care  that  prosperity  is 
not  our  sole  national  endowment.  War  asks  of  men 
self-denials  and  sacrifice  for  ideals.  Peace  must  some- 
how do  the  same.  Autocracy  orders  men  to  forget  self 
for  an  over-self  called  the  state.  Democracy  must 
inspire  men  to  forget  self  for  a  still  higher  thing  called ' 
humanity. 

There  stands  upon  the  steps  of  the  Sub-Treasury 
building,  in  Wall  Street,  the  bronze  figure  of  an  old 
Virginia  country  gentleman  looking  out  with  his  honest 
eyes  upon  the  sea  of  hurrying,  gain-getting  men.  This 
statue  is  a  remarkable  allegory,  for  in  his  grave,  thought- 
ful person,  Washington  embodies  that  form  of  public 
spirit,  that  balance  of  character,  that  union  of  force  and 
justice  that  re-defines  democracy.  Out  of  his  lips  seems 
to  issue  the  great  creed  which  is  the  core  of  democratic 
society,  and  around  which  this  finer  organization  shall 
be  solidly  built.  Power  rests  on  fitness  to  rule.  Fitness 
to  rule  rests  on  trained  minds  and  spirits.  You  can 
trust  men  if  you  will  train  them.  The  object  of  power 
is  the  public  good.  The  ultimate  judgment  of  mankind 
in  the  mass  is  a  fairly  good  judgment. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1 .    Explain '  'The  right  to  vote  implies  the  duty  to  vote  right . ' ' 
2.    Where  is  Wall  Street?    3.    What  self-denials  and  sacrifices 
for  ideals  must  peace  demand  of  us? 

AN  IMMIGRANT  WHO  BECAME  ONE  OF 

OUR  GREATEST  BUILDERS* 
Thirty-years  ago  Louis  J.  Horowitz,  an  immigrant 
from  an  old  world  to  the  land  of  his  new  desire,  gazed  at 

•By  permission  of  The  Literary  Digest. 


192  AMEEICANIZATION 

the  sky-line  of  New  York  from  the  deck  of  a  ship. 
To-day  he  may  look  upon  what  he  has  added  to  that  sky- 
line, for  he  is  the  builder  of  the  Equitable  and  the  Wool- 
worth  buildings  and  of  many  others  which,  though  high, 
do  not  reach  so  far  up  into  the  clouds.  Mr.  Horowitz, 
running  true  to  form,  was  nearly  sou-less  and  soupless 
when  he  reached  American  shores;  but  he  had  that  grit, 
push,  and  determination  which  are  often  called  American, 
but  which  are  often,  as  in  this  case,  imported  products. 
The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  find  a  job,  that  being  a 
condition  precedent  to  getting  something  to  eat.  He 
worked  first  as  an  errand  boy,  afterward  as  a  parcel- 
wrapper,  then  as  a  stock  boy,  and  then  as  a  shoe  sales- 
man. Selling  shoes  gave  him  the  idea  that  he  might  be 
able  to  sell  real  estate,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-three, 
five  years  after  he  had  landed,  this  Russian-Polish  boy 
embarked  for  himself  as  a  real  estate  broker  in  Brooklyn. 
In  a  short  time  he  was  financing  the  erection  of  an  apart- 
ment house,  and  soon  afterward  he  became  president  of 
a  Brooklyn  brokerage  firm  which  he  himself  incorpor- 
ated. While  he  was  engaged  on  various  real  estate 
operations,  the  young  man  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Thompson-Starrett  Company,  who  offered  him  the  post 
of  assistant  to  the  president.  In  less  than  a  year  the 
firm  had  undertaken  important  construction  work, 
running  into  the  millions.  Everybody  knows  the  Wool- 
worth  and  Equitable  buildings,  but  few  know  the  man 
who  built  them. 

When  asked  for  some  word  to  the  younger  generation 
that  would  help  it  to  succeed  in  business,  this  genuinely 
self-made  man  replied:  "Don't  worry  about  success, 
it  will  come  as  surely  as  night  follows  day,  to  quote 
Shakespeare,  if  you  attend  to  your  own  work  conscien- 
tiously.    Most  young  men  just  work  suflSciently  to  earn 


SAMUEL  GOMPERS  193 

money  so  that  they   can   play    around.     Play  should 
be  an  incident,  not  the  aim  of  life." 

How  Thoreau  would  have  appreciated,  and  what  a 
glowing  account  he  could  have  penned  of  this  "master 
builder!"  You  remember  Thoreau  tells  how  he  awoke 
one  night  and  what  satisfaction  it  was  to  his  soul  to 
remember  that  the  day  before  he  had  driven  one  nail 
straight.  What  would  he  have  said  of  the  huge  Wool- 
worth  and  Equitable  buildings,  or  of  the  little  man  that 
gave  them  form? 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  is  a  "self-made"  man?    2.    Who  was  Thoreau? 
3.     Name  men  in  American  history  who  were  "self-made." 

LABOR  AND  THE  COMMON  WELFARE* 
Samuel  Gompers 

The  trade  unions  are  the  legitimate  outgrowth  of 
modem  society  and  industrial  conditions.  They  are 
not  the  creation  of  any  man's  brain.  They  are  organiza- 
tions of  necessity.  They  were  born  of  the  necessity  of 
the  workers  to  protect  and  defend  themselves  from 
encroachment,  injustice  and  wrong.  They  are  the 
organizations  of  the  working  class,  for  the  working  class, 
by  the  working  class ;  grappling  with  economic  and  social 
problems  as  they  arise,  dealing  with  them  in  a  practical 
manner  to  the  end  that  a  solution  commensurate  with  the 
interests  of  all  may  be  attained. 

From  hand  labor  in  the  home  to  machine  and  factory 
labor  witnessed  the  transition  from  the  trade  guilds  to 

*Taken  by  permission  from  Labor  and  the  Common  Welfare, 
by  Samuel  Gompers,  edited  by  Hayes  Robbins,  copyrighted  by  E.  P. 
Button  &  Co.,  New  York. 


194  AMERICANIZATION 

the  trade  unions;  with  the  concentration  of  wealth  and 
the  development  of  industry,  the  growth  from  the  local 
to  the  national  and  the  international  unions,  and  the 
closer  affiliation  of  all  in  a  broad  and  comprehensive 
federation. 

There  are  some  who,  dissatisfied  with  what  they  term 
the  slow  progress  of  the  labor  movement,  would  have  us 
hasten  it  by  what  they  lead  themselves  to  believe  is  a 
shorter  route.  No  intelligent  workman  who  has  passed 
years  of  his  life  in  the  study  of  the  labor  problem,  expects 
to  wake  up  any  fine  morning  to  find  the  hopes  of  these 
years  realized  over  night,  and  the  world  on  the  flood-tide 
of  the  millennium.  With  the  knowledge  that  the  past 
tells  us  of  the  slow  progress  of  the  ages,  of  trial  and 
travail,  mistakes  and  doubts  yet  unsolved;  with  the 
history  of  the  working  class  bedewed  with  the  tears  of  a 
thousand  generations  and  tinged  with  the  life-blood  of 
numberless  martyrs,  the  trade  unionist  is  not  likely  to 
stake  his  future  on  the  fond  chance  of  the  many  millions 
turning  philosophers  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 

The  trade  unions  not  only  discuss  economic  and  social 
problems,  but  deal  with  them  in  a  practical  fashion  calcu- 
lated to  bring  about  better  conditions  of  life  to-day,  and 
thus  fit  the  workers  for  the  greater  struggles  for  ameliora- 
tion and  emancipation  yet  to  come. 

Trade  unionism  is  not  narrow.  The  locomotive  engine 
is  not  "narrow"  because  it  is  not  fitted  to  run  on  high- 
ways and  by-ways  and  waterways  as  it  is  for  railways, 
nor  is  the  steamship  "narrow"  because  it  cannot  be 
made  to  run  on  land.  But  steam,  the  motive  power,  can 
be  so  applied  that  it  is  effective  on  both  land  and  water. 
An  engine  is  adapted  to  a  special  use;  steam  in  its  applica- 
tions is  universal. 

Similarly,  a  trade  union  is  not  a  machine  fitted  to 


LEWIS  B.  AVEEY  195 

the  work  of  directly  affecting  all  the  civic,  social,  and 
political  changes  necessary  in  society.  But  it  first 
of  all  teaches  the  working  classes  the  power  of  combina- 
tion. Thenceforward  it  disciplines  them,  leads  them  to 
perform  tasks  that  are  possible,  and  permits  the  members 
of  any  of  its  affiliated  bodies  to  attempt  any  form  of  social 
experiment  which  does  not  imperil  the  organization  as  a 
whole.  The  spirit  of  combination  has  the  immediate 
effects  of  self-confidence  for  the  democratic  elements  in 
the  unions,  of  growth  in  the  loyalty  of  workingman  for 
workingman,  of  constant  progressive  achievement  not 
confined  to  restricted  limits.  It  is  therefore  a  motive 
power  continuously  and  variously  applicable  as  the 
masses  move  forward  and  upward  in  their  individual 
and  collective  development. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  statement  in  the  first  paragraph  reminds  you  of  an 
oft-quoted  phrase  used  by  Lincoln  in  his  Gettysburg  Address? 

2.  What  are  the  main  arguments  for  and  against  labor  unions? 

3.  What  evidence  do  you  find  in  this  selection  that  Mr.Gompers 
represents  the  more  conservative  element  among  labor  leaders? 

A  NEW  HEAVEN* 
Lewis  B.  Avery 

I  noted  an  Americanization  lesson  in  home  economics 
the  other  day.  It  was  a  neighborhood  in  which  the 
parents  were  largely  of  foreign  birth  and  where  homes 
needed  new  and  better  ideals  of  home-keeping.  We  had 
installed  no  neighborhood  school  there.  How  should 
the  real  lesson  in  home-keeping  be  gotten  over  to  the 
girls?     The    teacher    was    equal    to    the    need.     Miss 

♦From  School  and  Society  of  October  11,  1919. 


196  AMERICANIZATION 

Brown^s  little  home  was  selected — a  four-room  cottage 
of  most  modest  but  immaculate  furnishing.  She  was 
asked  to  help  in  giving  this  lesson  in  home-keeping  and 
entered  into  the  plan  with  joy.  A  committee  of  some 
ten  girls  was  selected  to  visit  and  report  to  the  class  on 
home-keeping  standards.  The  selection  of  the  commit- 
tee was  so  made  as  to  include  some  of  those  who  would 
most  need  the  visit.  The  sights  in  this  modest  home 
were  new  to  some  of  these  girls.  Finished  floors  and 
rugs  and  carpets  were  examined  and  discussed  with 
intense  interest  and  costs  ascertained.  The  plainest 
and  cleanest  of  curtains  were  on  the  windows  and  were 
carefullj^  inspected  as  to  plan  of  construction  and 
material.  One  girl  was  delighted  to  have  the  chance  to 
push  the  electric  light  button  for  the  first  time  and  see 
the  lights  flash  out.  A  number  saw  their  first  vacuum 
cleaner  and  operated  it.  One  confided  her  verdict  to  her 
teacher  in  a  whisper — ''When  I  grow  up  and  get  married 
I  am  going  to  have  a  bedroom  just  like  this  one."  It 
was  impossible  to  keep  the  report  till  the  class  got 
together  to  hear  it.  It  had  been  given  in  a  dozen  enthus- 
iastic conversations  before  its  final  formal  submission. 
No  equipment  set  up  as  a  demonstration  by  the  school 
could  so  enter  the  lives  of  these  girls  as  this  little  home 
that  has  become  their  ideal,  because  seemingly  at  some 
time  attainable.  Said  one  girl,  "If  I  should  work  and 
save  for  four  years  after  I  finish  school  I  could  furnish  a 
house  like  this."  This  was  after  the  cost  of  things  had 
been  discussed. 

In  the  ideals  of  the  children  lie  any  hope  we  may 
cherish  for  a  better  to-morrow.  Moreover,  the  child 
is  the  gateway  to  the  homes  and  the  hearts  of  the 
parents  the  world  over.  The  child  is  one  of  the  great 
avenues  to  the  Americanization  of  parents,  and  as  such 


E.  A.  HANLEY  197 

is  used  too  little  by  teachers.  The  teacher  too  generally 
feels  relieved  if  she  may  draw  the  line  at  the  school 
door,  but  a  group  of  great-souled  teachers  is  responding 
to  the  call  for  Americanization,  teachers  of  talent  and 
power,  devoted  to  this  great  end — the  redemption  of  our 
foreign-speaking  peoples,  the  assimilation  of  our  new 
Americans — the  uniting  of  the  America  of  the  past  with 
the  America  that  is  to  be. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    How  can  the  boys  in  your  school  be  taught  a  similar 
lesson  in  Americanization?    2.    Why  was  Miss  Brown's  home 
selected  for  the  lesson? 

CITIZENS  OF  TO-MORROW* 
E.  A.  Hanley 

What  is  the  spirit  of  true  Americanism?  It  is  the 
spirit  of  the  Pilgrims  in  New  England,  of  the  Baptists  in 
Rhode  Island,  of  the  Quakers  in  Pennsylvania,  of  the 
CathoHc  settlers  in  Maryland,  and  the  Huguenots  in 
South  Carolina.  It  is  the  spirit  of  Washington  and 
Lincoln.  America  stands  for  more  than  a  dollar  sign. 
She  represents  the  fairest  ideals  and  some  of  the  noblest 
sacrifices  of  any  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  She 
represents  opportunity  for  God  and  man.  It  was  by  a 
flash  of  genius  that  the  gifted  authoress  Mary  Antin, 
in  teUing  the  story  of  her  coming  to  America  and  her 
experience  here,  called  it  ''The  Promised  Land."  All 
that  Judea  was  to  the  Jews  and  the  Jews  to  the  world, 
America  may  be  to  us  and  we  may  be  to  our  fellow-men. 
What  we  need  supremely  and  what  we  must  have  to 

*From  Proceedings  Indiana  State  Teachers*  Association^  October, 
1916. 


198  AMEEICANIZATION 

save  us  from  the  peril  of  our  material  greatness  and  to 
fuliSU  our  mission  to  the  world,  is  justice  and  brother- 
hood. With  public  spirit  and  cooperation  ruling  in 
civic  and  industrial  relations,  America  may  symbolize 
her  mission  to  the  world  by  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  hold- 
ing aloft  her  torch  to  guide  pilgrim  exiles  from  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  True  Americanism  is  nothing  less  than  the 
spirit  of  love  and  service  working  in  the  heart  of  this 
great  nation.  This  can  be  done  indirectly  through  the 
teaching  of  history,  but  it  would  seem  that  definite 
instruction  must  be  given  in  the  nature  of  society  and 
the  process  of  government.  The  fundamentals  of 
economies,  sanitation  and  political  science  are  not 
beyond  the  comprehension  of  the  youth  in  our  high 
schools.  If  we  are  to  make  our  public  education  a  train- 
ing school  for  citizenship,  the  fundamental  principles  of 
these  subjects  could  not  wholly  be  omitted. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Who  were  the  Huguenots?    2.    What  is  the  dollar  sign? 
How  was  it  derived?    3.    What  is  the  Goddess  of  Liberty? 

THE  WORKING  OF  THE 

AMERICAN  DEMOCRACY* 

Charles  W.  Eliot 

The  people  of  this  country  have  had  three  supreme 
questions  to  settle  within  the  last  hundred  and  thirty 
years:  first,  the  question  of  independence  of  Great 
Britain;  secondly,  the  question  of  forming  a  firm  federal 
union;  and  thirdly,  the  question  of  maintaining  that 
union  at  whatever  cost  of  blood  and  treasure.     In  the 

*From  American  Contributions  to  Civilization.  Copyright,  1907, 
The  Century  Company.     Reprinted  by  permission. 


CHARLES  W.  ELIOT  199 

decision  of  these  questions,  four  generations  of  men  took 
active  part.  The  first  two  questions  were  settled  by  a 
population  mainly  English;  but  when  the  third  was 
decided,  the  foreign  admixture  was  already  considerable. 
That  graver  or  more  far-reaching  political  problems 
could  be  presented  to  any  people,  it  is  impossible  to 
imagine.  Everybody  can  now  see  that  in  each  case  the 
only  wise  decision  was  arrived  at  by  the  multitude,  in 
spite  of  difficulties  and  dangers  which  many  contem- 
porary statesmen  and  publicists  of  our  own  and  other 
lands  thought  insuperable.  It  is  quite  the  fashion  to 
laud  to  the  skies  the  second  of  these  three  great  achieve- 
ments of  the  American  democracy;  but  the  creation  of 
the  federal  union,  regarded  as  a  wise  determination  of  a 
multitude  of  voters,  was  certainly  not  more  remarkable 
than  the  other  two.  No  government — ^tyranny  or 
oligarchy,  despotic  or  constitutional — could  possibly 
have  made  wiser  decisions  or  executed  them  more  reso- 
lutely, as  the  event  has  proved  in  each  of  the  three  cases 
mentioned. 

It  is  said  that  democracy  is  fighting  against  the  best 
determined  and  most  peremptory  of  biological  laws, 
namely,  the  law  of  heredity,  with  which  law  the  social 
structure  of  monarchical  and  oligarchical  states  is  in 
strict  conformity.  This  criticism  fails  to  recognize  the 
distinction  between  artificial  privileges  transmissible 
without  regard  to  inherited  virtues  or  powers,  and 
inheritable  virtues  or  powers  transmissible  without 
regard  to  hereditary  privileges.  Artificial  privileges  will 
be  abolished  by  a  democracy;  natural,  inheritable  vir- 
tues or  powers  are  as  surely  transmissible  under  a 
democracy  as  under  any  other  form  of  government. 
Families  can  be  made  just  as  enduring  in  a  democratic 
as  in  an  oligarchic  state^  if  family  permanence  be  desired 


300  AMERICANIZATION 

and  aimed  at.  The  desire  for  the  continuity  of  vigorous 
families,  and  for  the  reproduction  of  beauty,  genius, 
nobility  of  character  is  universal.  'Trom  fairest  crea- 
tures we  desire  increase"  is  the  commonest  of  sentiments. 
The  American  multitude  will  not  take  the  children  of 
distinguished  persons  on  trust;  but  it  is  delighted  when 
an  able  man  has  an  abler  son,  or  a  lovely  mother  a  lovlier 
daughter.  That  a  democracy  does  not  prescribe  the 
close  inter-marriage  which  characterizes  a  strict  aris- 
tocracy, so-called,  is  physically  not  a  disadvantage,  but 
a  great  advantage  for  the  freer  society.  The  French 
nobility  and  the  English  House  of  Lords  furnish  good 
evidence  that  aristocracies  do  not  succeed  in  perpetuating 
select  types  of  intellect  or  of  character. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.     What  is  an  oligarchy?    2.     What  governments  to-day  are 
despotic?    3.    What  is  the  House  of  Lords? 


THE  HIGHER  PATRIOTISM* 
Jane  Addams 

There  is  one  moral  pit  into  which  we  continually  fall, 
a  sort  of  hidden  pit  which  the  devil  digs  for  the  feet  of 
the  righteous.  It  is  that  we  keep  on  in  one  way  because 
we  have  begun  that  way,  and  do  not  have  presence  of 
mind  enough  to  change  when  that  path  is  no  longer  the 
right  one.  The  traditional  way,  the  historic  way,  is  the 
way  the  Romans  used  when  they  went  forward  into 
Europe  and  levied  taxes  and  brought  back  to  Rome  all 

*From  an  address  before  the  Thirtieth  International  Peace  Con- 
ference, Chicago,  1904.    Used  by  courtesy  of  the  author. 


JAJNE  ADDAMS  201 

their  treasure  and  all  their  finest  blood.  That  is  the 
easiest  way. 

But  if  we  have  the  spirit  of  moral  adventure,  if  we 
believe  as  we  pretend  to  believe  in  America,  in  democracy 
then  we  shall  be  ready  to  take  another  course,  even  if  it 
be  much  more  difficult.  People  can  no  longer  say  that 
we  do  not  believe  in  democracy  in  America,  but  they  can 
say  that  we  no  longer  trust  democracy.  Almost  every 
state  in  Europe  has  established  forts  in  Africa  or  Asia 
or  some  other  place.  But  here  in  America  is  the  place 
for  experiment.  Let  us  say,  "We  will  trust  the  people 
although  they  are  of  a  different  color,  although  they  are 
of  a  different  tradition  from  ours.  Perhaps  we  will  be 
able  through  our  very  confidence,  to  nourish  them  into 
another  type  of  government,  not  Anglo-Saxon.  Perhaps 
we  shall  be  able  to  prove  that  some  things  that  are  not 
Anglo-Saxon  are  of  great  value,  of  grsat  beauty.  Let 
us  not  be  like  the  men  in  commercial  life,  who  say  it  is 
easy  enough  to  go  into  a  place  after  it  has  been  swept 
clear  by  warships.  You  can  force  anything  on  natives 
when  they  have  once  been  intimidated.  But  we  must 
proceed  in  a  different  way,  we  must  do  our  work  on  the 
hardest  plane.  We  have  a  higher  ideal  than  the  old  one 
which  has  been  incorporated  in  the  rule  of  first  gaining 
government  control  by  force  and  making  things  safe. 
I  can  imagine  that  most  young  men  would  say  that  they 
will  not  go  into  these  new  regions  until  a  warship  has  gone 
first.  The  man  with  the  courage  would  be  the  man  who 
would  prefer  to  go  without  the  warships,  just  as  the 
brave  young  man  walks  the  street  of  a  city  without 
arms,  while  the  coward  carries  brass  knuckles  and  a 
revolver  in  his  hip  pocket. 

Let  us  see  that  this  more  dispassionate  idea  of  self- 
government,  this  more  modern  idea  of  human  life,  begins 


202  AMEEICANIZATION 

with  a  few  groups  of  people  here  and  there.  Let  us 
declare  that  just  as  an  individual  shows  signs  of  decay- 
when  he  loses  his  power  of  seK-mortification,  'his  power 
of  self-surrender,  when  he  begins  to  be  cautious,  when  he 
begins  to  say,  "I  cannot  do  this  thing  because  it  may- 
injure  my  future,"  so  it  is  with  a  nation.  A  nation 
ought  to  be  able,  in  some  way,  to  arrive  at  a  proper 
conception  of  patriotism.  The  word  "economic  patriot- 
ism" will,  I  trust  in  future  years  come  to  have  a  meaning 
to  us.  We  cannot  afford  to  be  too  careful  of  our  indivi- 
dual life.  We  must  not  forget  that  there  is  something 
in  the  old  idea  that  the  world  is  a  theatre  for  noble 
action,  and  that  nation  which  yearns  for  noble  action 
will  be  the  nation  of  the  future,  as  the  self-forgetting 
young  person  is  sure  to  come  out  ahead  of  the  person  who 
is  cautious  at  an  early  age. 

Questions  and  Exercises  t 

1.    Why  is  America  the  place  for  experiment?    2.    What  is 
maant  by  the  term  "Anglo-Saxon"? 


MOB  LAW 

Abraham  Lincoln 

In  a  speech  portraying  vividly  the  evils  arising  from 
mob  law,  Lincoln  asks: 

"How  shall  we  fortify  against  it?"  The  answer  is 
simple.  Let  every  American,  every  lover  of  liberty, 
every  well-wisher  to  his  posterity  swear  by  the  blood  of 
the  Revolution  never  to  violate  in  the  least  particular 
the  laws  of  the  country,  and  never  to  tolerate  their  viola- 
tion by  others.  As  the  patriots  of  seventy-six  did  to  the 
support  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  so  to  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  203 

support  of  the  Constitution  and  laws  let  every  American 
pledge  his  life,  his  property,  and  his  sacred  honor — let 
every  man  remember  that  to  violate  the  law  is  to  tram- 
ple on  the  blood  of  his  father.  Let  reverence  for  the 
laws  be  breathed  by  every  American  mother  to  the  lisp- 
ing babe  that  prattles  on  her  lap;  let  it  be  taught  in 
schools,  in  seminaries,  and  in  colleges;  let  it  be  written 
in  primers,  spelling  books,  and  in  almanacs;  let  it  be 
preached  from  the  pulpit,  proclaimed  in  legislative  halls, 
and  enforced  in  courts  of  justice.  And,  in  short,  let  it 
become  the  political  religion  of  the  nation;  and  let  the 
old  and  the  young,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  grave  and 
the  gay  of  all  sexes  and  tongues  and  colors  and  condi- 
tions, sacrifice  unceasingly  upon  its  altars.  While  even 
a  state  of  feeling  such  as  this  shall  universally  or  even 
very  generally  prevail  throughout  the  nation,  vain  will 
be  every  effort,  and  fruitless  every  attempt,  to  subvert 
our  national  freedom. 

When  I  so  pressingly  urge  a  strict  observance  of  all 
the  laws,  let  me  not  be  understood  as  saying  there  are  no 
bad  laws,  or  that  grievances  may  not  arise  for  the  redress 
of  which  no  legal  provisions  have  been  made.  I  mean 
to  say  no  such  thing.  But  I  do  mean  to  say  that  although 
bad  laws,  if  they  exist,  should  be  repealed  as  soon  as 
possible,  still,  while  they  continue  in  force,  for  the  sake 
of  example  they  should  be  religiously  observed.  So  also 
in  unprovided  cases.  If  such  arise,  let  proper  legal  pro- 
visions be  made  for  them  with  the  least  possible  delay, 
but  till  then  let  them,  if  not  too  intolerable,  be  borne 
with. 

There  is  no  grievance  that  is  a  fit  object  of  redress  by 
mob  law.  In  any  case  that  may  arise,  as,  for  instance, 
the  promulgation  of  abolitionism,  one  of  two  positions 
is  necessarily  true — that  is,  the  thing  is    right    within 


204  AMERICANIZATION 

itself,  and  therefore  deserves  the  protection  of  all  law 
and  all  good  citizens,  or  it  is  wrong  and  therefore  proper 
to  be  prohibited  by  legal  enactments;  and  in  neither  case 
is  the  interposition  of  mob  law  either  necessary,  justij&- 
able,  or  excusable. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Do  you  agree  with  Lincoln's  argument?  2.  Cite  exam- 
ples to  show  the  evil  consequeDces  of  mob  law. 

THE  POWER  or  A  MINORITY  IN 

EFFECTING  REFORMS 

John  B.  Gough 

There  is  not  a  social,  political,  or  religious  privilege  we 
enjoy  to-day  that  was  not  bought  for  us  by  the  blood 
and  tears  and  patient  sufferings  of  the  minority.  It  is 
the  minority  that  have  vindicated  humanity  in  every 
struggle.  It  is  a  minority  that  have  stood  in  the  van  of 
every  moral  conflict  and  achieved  all  that  is  noble  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  The  chosen  heroes  of  this  earth 
have  been  those  who  have  stepped  out  in  advance  of  the 
public  sentiment  of  their  age  and  stood,  like  glorious 
iconoclasts,  to  break  down  the  Dagon  of  old  abuses 
worshipped  by  their  fathers.  They  were  persecuted — 
the  very  men  they  worked  for  hurled  at  them  contumely 
and  scorn,  yet  they  stood  firmly  at  their  post — and  if  you 
read  the  history  of  this  world,  you  will  find  that  one 
generation  has  ever  been  busy  in  gathering  up  the 
scattered  ashes  of  the  martyred  heroes  of  the  past  to 
deposit  them  in  the  golden  urn  of  a  nation's  history. 

Look  at  Scotland,  where  they  are  erecting  monuments 
• — ^to  whom?  to  the  Covenanters.  Ah,  they  were  in  a 
minority.     Read  their  history,  if  you  can,  without  the 


FEANK  0.  LOWDEN  205 

blood  tingling  to  the  tips  of  your  fingers.  Those  were 
in  a  minority  that,  through  blood,  and  tears,  and  boot- 
ings,  and  scourgings — dying  the  waters  with  their  blood, 
and  staining  the  heather  with  their  gore — ^fought  the 
glorious  battle  of  religious  freedom. 

Minority!  If  a  man  stands  up  for  the  right,  though  the 
right  be  on  the  scajffold,  while  the  wrong  sits  in  the 
seat  of  government,  if  he  stand  for  the  right,  though  he 
eat,  with  the  right  and  truth,  a  wretched  crust;  though 
he  walk  with  obloquy  and  scorn  in  the  bylanes  and 
streets,  while  the  falsehood  and  wrong  ruffle  the  avenues 
with  silken  attire,  let  him  remember  that  wherever  the 
right  and  truth  are  there  are  always  "troops  of  beautiful, 
bright  angels"  gathered  around  him,  and  God  Himself 
stands  within  the  dim  future  keeping  watch  over  His 
own.  If  a  man  stands  for  the  right  and  the  truth, 
though  every  man's  finger  be  pointed  at  him,  though 
every  woman's  lip  be  curled  at  him  in  scorn,  he  stands 
in  a  majority;  for  God  and  good  angels  are  with  him, 
and  greater  are  they  that  are  for  him  than  all  they  that 
be  against  him. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  do  we  mean  by  a  "minority"?    2.    Who  were  the 
Covenanters?    3.    What    is    an    iconoclast?    4.     Who    was 
Dagon? 


THE  TYRANNY  OF  THE  MAJORITY* 
Frank  O.  Lowden 

While  it  is  true  that  ours  is  a  government  by  the 
majority,  it  is  something  vastly  more.    When  our  fore- 

*Adapted   from   a   speech   before   the  New  England  Society, 
December,  1919. 


206  AMEEICANIZATION 

fathers  met  in  Independence  Hall  in  Philadelphia,  to 
frame  the  Constitution  they  were  familiar  with  the 
lessons  of  history.  They  knew  that  republics  had  risen 
and  fallen  throughout  the  centuries  because  of  the 
tyranny  practiced  by  the  majority  in  those  republics, 
and  so  they  said  there  are  some  rights  so  sacred  that  they 
must  be  placed  forever  beyond  the  power  of  even  the 
largest  majority.  So  the  liberty  of  the  individual  and 
those  incalculable  rights  which  we  denominate  in  our 
Bill  of  Rights  were  made  the  basis  of  our  government. 

Why,  my  friends,  tyranny  is  just  as  odious  to  the 
American  citizen  whether  it  is  practiced  by  a  crowned 
monarch  or  whether  it  is  practiced  by  a  mob.  Justice 
and  righteousness  were  made  the  cornerstone  of  our 
government,  and  not  the  whim,  the  passing  whim,  of  any 
majority,  no  matter  how  large.  That  is  the  thing  which 
distinguishes  the  American  Republic  from  all  the 
republics  of  the  past.  That  is  the  thing  which  has  made 
us  great  and  prosperous,  and  this  is  the  thing  which  has 
made  us  an  example  to  all  the  liberty  loving  people  of 
all  the  world. 

I  wonder  if  we  realize  just  how  much  we  mean  as  a 
people,  not  only  to  ourselves,  but  to  all  the  world.  I 
wonder  if  we  realize  what  the  force  of  our  example  has 
been.  I  wonder  if  we  understand  that  this  government 
has  been  the  inspiration  of  every  enlightened  statesman 
in  the  world  upon  every  measure  looking  to  an  enlarge- 
ment of  human  liberty. 

America  has  been  a  solace  to  the  patriot  dying  in  other 
lands,  because,  though  he  has  fallen,  his  failing  vision 
beholds  as  recompensing  hope  for  his  sacrifice,  the  flag 
of  America,  and  he  dies  content  in  the  faith  bestowed  by 
that  symbol,  that  one  day  man  shall  be  free  throughout 
the  earth. 


INDEPENDENCE  HALL 


■^ 


ELBERT  HUBBARD  209 

It  has  been  said  so  often  and  it  is  everlastingly  true, 
that  America  is  the  best  and  the  last  hope  of  mankind, 
and  if  we  should  fail,  which  God  forbid,  where  in  all  the 
world  may  the  broken  spirit  find  refuge?  Where  beneath 
the  shining  heavens  will  there  be  found  a  haven  for  those 
who  seek  a  land  of  liberty,  a  land  of  righteousness,  a 
land  of  law? 

We  will  not  fail!  We  cannot  fail  if  we  do  our  duty, 
but  the  time  has  passed  when  we  can  remain  silent 
regarding  these  great  fundamentals  of  government  and 
permit  the  enemies  of  social  order  everywhere  to  occupy 
the  center  of  the  stage.  The  time  has  come  when  we 
must  take  issue  with  those  who,  infatuated  with  chaotic 
dreams,  are  seeking  to  undermine  the  bulwarks  of 
government;  when  we  can  no  longer  refrain  from  exer- 
cising and  proclaiming  the  truth — truth  as  virile  to-day 
as  it  was  a  hundred  years  ago,  that  "eternal  vigilance 
is  the  price  of  liberty." 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.     Do  you  believe  in  government  by  representation,   in 
government  by  the  majority?    2.     Should  not  the  rights  of  the 
minority,    nevertheless,    be    represented?    3.     Read    "Party 
Spirit  and  Good  Government,"  by  Jefferson  in  this  volume. 

A  MESSAGE  TO  GARCIA* 
Elbert  Hubbard 

When  war  broke  out  between  Spain  and  the  United 
States,  it  was  very  necessary  to  communicate  quickly 
with  the  leader  of  the  Insurgents.  Garcia  was  some- 
where in  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  Cuba — no  one  knew 
where.     No  mail  or  telegraph  message  could  reach  him. 

*By  permission  of  The  Roycrofters. 


210  AMERICANIZATION 

The  president  must  secure  his  cooperation,  and  quickly. 

What  to  do? 

Some  one  said  to  the  president,  "There's  ^a  fellow  by 
the  name  of  Rowan  will  find  Garcia  for  you,  if  anybody 
can." 

Rowan  was  sent  for  and  given  a  letter  to  be  delivered 
to  Garcia.  How  "the  fellow  by  the  name  of  Rowan'' 
took  the  letter,  sealed  it  up  in  an  oilskin  pouch,  strapped 
it  over  his  heart,  in  four  days  landed  by  night  off  the 
coast  of  Cuba  from  an  openiboat,  disappeared  into  the 
jungle,  and  in  three  weeks  came  out  on  the  other  side 
of  the  island,  having  traversed  a  hostile  country  on  foot, 
and  delivered  his  letter  to  Garcia — are  things  I  have  no 
special  desire  now  to  tell  in  detail. 

The  point  I  wish  to  make  is  this:  McKinley  gave 
Rowan  a  letter  to  be  delivered  to  Garcia;  Rowan  took 
the  letter  and  did  not  ask,  "Where  is  he  at?"  By  the 
Eternal!  there  is  a  man  whose  form  should  be  cast  in 
deathless  bronze  and  that  statue  placed  in  every  college 
of  the  land.  It  is  not  book-learning  young  men  need, 
not  instruction  about  this  and  that,  but  a  stiffening  of 
the  vertebrae  which  will  cause  them  to  be  loyal  to  a 
trust,  to  act  promptly,  concentrate  their  energies:  do  the 
thing — "Carry  a  message  to  Garcia!" 

General  Garcia  is  now  dead,  but  there  are  other 
Garcias.  No  man,  who  has  endeavored  to  carry  out  an 
enterprise  where  many  hands  were  needed,  but  has  been 
well-nigh  appalled  at  times  by  the  imbecility  of  the 
average  man — the  inability  or  unwillingness  to  concen- 
trate on  a  thing  and  do  it.  And  this  incapacity  for 
independent  action,  this  moral  stupidity,  this  infirmity 
of  the  will,  this  unwillingness  to  cheerfully  catch  hold 
and  lift,  are  things  that  put  pure  Socialism  so  far  into 


THEODORE  TILTON  211 

the  future.     If  men  will  not  act  for  themselves,  what 
will  they  do  when  the  benefit  of  their  efforts  is  for  all? 

My  heart  goes  out  to  the  man  who  does  his  work  when 
the  *'boss"  is  away,  as  well  as  when  he  is  at  home.  And 
the  man  who,  when  given  a  letter  for  Garcia,  quietly 
takes  the  missive,  without  asking  any  idiotic  questions, 
and  with  no  lurking  intention  of  chucking  it  into  the 
nearest  sewer,  or  of  doing  aught  else  but  deliver  it,  never 
gets  ''laid  off,"  nor  has  to  go  on  a  strike  for  higher  wages. 
Civilization  is  one  long,  anxious  search  for  just  such 
individuals.  Anything  such  a  man  asks  shall  be  granted; 
his  kind  is  so  rare  that  no  employer  can  afford  to  let  him 
go.  He  is  wanted  in  every  city,  town,  and  village — in 
every  office,  shop,  store,  and  factory.  The  world  cries 
out  for  such;  he  is  needed,  and  needed  badly — the  man 
who  can  carry  a  message  to  Garcia. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Point  out  a  flaw  in  Mr.  Hubbard's  argument  in  the  next 
to  the  last  paragraph.  2.  Are  not  government  directed  institu- 
tions, as  for  instance  the  post-office,  as  efficient  as  private  busi- 
nesses? 3.  What  is  your  own  observation  as  to  the  need  for 
such  men  as  the  author  pleads? 


FREE  SPEECH 
Theodore  Tilton 

Free  speech  is  not  merely  a  spark  from  an  eloquent 
orator's  glowing  tongue,  even  though  his  utterance  has 
power  to  kindle  men's  passions  or  melt  their  hearts. 
Free  speech  is  an  eloquence  above  eloquence.  It  is  an 
oratory  of  its  own,  and  not  every  orator  is  its  apostle. 

For  many  years  a  Carmelite  monk  touched  the  souls 


212  AMEKICANIZATION 

of  men  with  the  consolation  of  faith;  and  Paris,  listening, 
said:  "This  is  eloquence."  Then,  in  that  trial  hour  of 
his  history,  this  same  preacher,  against  the  impending 
and  dread  anathema  of  Rome,  exclaimed:  "I  will  not 
enter  the  pulpit  in  chains !"  And  the  world  said :  "Hark ! 
This  is  more  than  eloquence — it  is  Free  Speech."  Yes; 
eloquence  is  one  thing  and  free  speech  is  another.  Open 
Macaulay^s  history.  Lord  Halifax  was  the  chief  silver 
tongue  among  a  whole  generation  of  English  statesmen; 
but  though  he  woke  the  ringing  echoes  of  many  a  parlia- 
ment, and  though  wherever  he  went  he  carried  a  full 
mouth  of  fine  English,  yet  never,  in  all  his  public  career, 
did  he  utter  as  much  free  speech  as  John  Hampden  let 
loose  in  a  single  sentence,  when  he  said:  "I  will  not  pay 
twenty-one  shillings  and  sixpence  ship  money." 

Edward  Everett  leaves  many  speeches;  Patrick  Henry 
few.  But  the  great  word  painter,  who  busied  himself 
with  painting  the  white  lily  of  Washington's  fame,  never 
caught  that  greater  language  of  free  speech  that  burned 
upon  the  tongue  of  him  who  knew  how  to  say :  "Give  me 
liberty  or  give  me  Death." 

Free  speech  is  like  the  angel  that  delivered  Saint  Peter 
from  prison.  Its  mission  is  to  rescue  from  captivity 
some  divinely  inspired  truth  or  principle,  which  unjust 
men  have  locked  in  dungeons  or  bound  in  chains.  For 
thirty  years  the  free  speech  of  this  country  was  conse- 
crated to  one  sublime  idea :  an  idea  graven  on  the  bell  of 
Independence,  which  says:  "Proclaim  liberty  through- 
out the  land,  to  all  the  inhabitants  thereof."  After 
thirty  years'  debate  on  human  liberty,  this  idea  is  like 
Ophelia's  rosemary:  it  is  for  remembrance;  and  it  calls 
to  mind  the  champions  of  free  speech  in  New  England. 
They  are  the  choice  master  spirits  of  the  age.  Some  of 
them  have  been  hissed;  others  hailed;  all  shall  be  revered. 


BRUCE  BARTOlSr  213 

As  the  legend  runs,  Saint  Hubert  died  and  was  buried. 
A  green  branch  lying  on  his  breast  was  buried  with  him ; 
and  when,  at  the  end  of  a  hundred  years,  his  grave  was 
opened,  the  good  man's  body  had  dissolved  into  dust, 
but  the  fair  branch  had  kept  its  perennial  green.  So  the 
advocates  of  free  speech  shall  die  and  their  laurels  be 
buried  with  them.  But  when  the  next  generation,  wise, 
just,  and  impartial,  shall  make  inquiry  for  the  heroes, 
the  prophets,  and  princely  souls  of  this  present  age,  long 
after  their  bones  are  ashes  their  laurels  shall  abide  in 
imperishable  green. 


Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  is  the  difference  between  eloquence  and  free 
speech?  2.  Who  was  the  Carmelite  monk?  What  did 
Macaulay  write  besides  history?    3.    Who  is  OpheUa? 


THE  CONSERVATION  OF  PUBLIC  SPEECH* 

At  a  public  dinner  some  weeks  ago  five  speakers  were 
scheduled.  It  was  agreed  that  each  would  speak  for 
twenty  minutes — a  hundred  minutes  of  oratory,  all 
that  any  patient  audience  ought  to  be  called  upon  to 
stand.  The  first  man  spoke  twenty-two  minutes.  The 
second  man  spoke  twenty-five.  The  third  man  ram- 
bled along  for  an  hour  and  forty-four  minutes ! 

The  speaker  has  an  unfair  advantage  over  a  writer. 
Any  reader  can,  at  any  moment,  decide  that  a  thing  is 
not  worth  reading,  and  move  on.  But  no  man  rises  in 
the  middle  of  a  public  address,  jams  on  his  hat  and 
stamps  down  the  aisle.     We  are  held  by  a  certain  con- 

*By  permission  of  Bruce  Barton,  the  author  of  the  editorial 
"If  There  Were  Only  a  Tax  on  Talk"  in  the  Red  Book,  May,  1920. 


214  AMERICANIZATION 

vention  of  courtesy;  and  nine  speakers  out  of  ten  pre- 
sume upon  that  fact. 

Only  once  in  a  blue  moon  does  a  man  arise  and  without 
a  palaver,  drive  right  to  the  point,  making  his  statement 
in  a  few  crisp  words  and  sitting  down  before  we  are  ready 
to  have  him  stop.  Such  a  one  leaves  us  gasping  with 
relief  and  admiration:  we  would,  with  the  slightest 
encouragement,  shout  for  him  for  president.  He  glistens 
in  our  memory;  and  we  mention  his  name  with  a  certain 
awe  when  the  names  of  speakers  are  told. 

Brevity  is  so  popular  a  virtue  that  I  cannot  under- 
stand why  more  speakers  do  not  cultivate  it.  It  is  one 
of  the  keys  to  immortality. 

Two  men  spoke  at  Gettysburg  on  the  same  afternoon 
during  the  Civil  War.  One  man  was  named  Everett, 
the  leading  orator  of  his  day;  and  he  made  a  typically 
"great"  oration.  How  many  in  this  audience  has  ever 
heard  it  referred  to,  or  could  repeat  a  single  line? 

The  other  speaker  read  from  a  slip  of  paper  less  than 
three  hundred  words.  And  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  address 
will  live  forever. 

Greeley  used  to  say  that  the  way  to  write  a  good 
editorial  was  to  write  it  to  the  best  of  your  ability,  then 
cut  it  in  two  in  the  middle  and  print  the  last  half. 

When  a  reporter  complained  to  Dana  that  he  could  not 
possibly  cover  a  certain  story  in  six  hundred  words, 
Dana  sent  him  to  the  Bible : 

"The  whole  story  of  the  creation  of  the  world  is  told 
in  less  than  six  hundred!",  he  exclaimed. 

Everything  is  taxed  these  days  except  talk ;  and  no  tax 
could  be  more  popular  from  the  standpoint  of  the  patient 
consumer.  The  tax  should  be  graded,  like  the  income 
tax.  Let  speeches  of  five  minutes  or  under  be  exempt; 
from  five-  to  ten-minute  speeches,  ten  per  cent;  ten  to 


FRANKLIN  HENRY  GIDDINGS  215 

fifteen  minutes,  fifteen  per  cent;  over  thirty  minutes, 
sixty  per  cent,  with  doutle  taxes  on  speeches  in  Congress. 
Only  by  such  rigorous  treatment  will  the  spoken  word 
regain  a  position  of  respect,  and  silence  receive  the  honor 
that  is  its  due. 

There  is  one  historical  character  who  has  fascinated 
me.  His  name  was  Enoch;  the  honor  conferred  upon 
him  has  been  enjoyed  by  no  other;  yet  his  whole  biog- 
raphy is  written  in  less  than  twenty  words.  ''And 
Enoch  walked  with  God;  and  he  was  not;  For  God  took 
him.'' 

So  far  as  we  know,  he  was  the  only  man  ever  selected 
by  the  Almighty  as  a  walking  companion.  And  there  is 
every  indication  that  he  was  a  man  of  very  few  words. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Who  was  Everett?  Dana?  Greeley?  2.  In  what  book 
of  the  Bible  is  Enoch  mentioned?  Why  should  a  speech  be  as 
brief  as  possible? 


THE  TRUE  AMERICAN— A  CONSCIENTIOUS 

MAN* 
Franklin  Henry  Giddings 

The  perfect  citizen  demanded  by  our  own  age  and  by 
our  own  nation  can  be  characterized  in  a  single  phrase. 
The  American  who  is  worthy  to  be  so  called,  the  patriot 
on  whom  his  country  may  depend  in  any  hour  of  peril, 
the  voter  who  will  neither  take  the  scoundrel's  bribe  nor 
follow  the  lead  of  any  fool — he  is  exactly  and  fully 
described  when  we  say  that  he  is  a  conscientious  man. 

*.From  Democracy  and  Empire.  Copyright,  1900,  The  Macmillan 
Company.    Reprinted  by  permission. 


216  AMERICANIZATION 

For  such  a  man  is,  first  of  all,  everything  for  which  the 
word  ''man"  stands  in  its  truest  emphasis.  He  is  a  virile, 
a  personal  force,  an  organism  overflowing  with  splendid 
power,  alert,  fearless,  able  to  carry  to  perfect  fulfilment 
any  undertaking  preserving  in  his  disposition  and 
habits  the  best  traditions  of  a  pioneer  manhood  of  those 
Americans  of  an  earlier  time  who  asked  little  and  did 
much,  who  made  homes  and  careers  for  themselves.  He 
demands  not  too  much  of  society  or  of  his  government. 
He  does  not  expect  to  be  provided  for.  He  does  not  ask 
what  ready-made  places  in  the  government  service  or 
elsewhere  he  may  slip  into  to  enjoy  through  life  with 
little  bother  or  anxiety.  Rather  does  he  explore,  invent, 
and  create  opportunities  for  himself  and  for  others.  It 
is  a  melancholy  thing  when  numbers  of  educated  men  go 
looking  for  ''jobs,"  or  stand  waiting  for  opportunities 
to  drift  their  way.  The  educated  man  has  already  had 
opportunity,  and  the  world  rightly  expects  him  to  show 
powers  of  initiative  and  leadership.  He  has  no  right  to 
be  a  mere  imitator  of  others;  and  when  he  is  content 
to  be  such,  there  is  something  radically  wrong  either  with 
him  or  with  the  college  that  has  trained  him. 

In  the  second  place,  the  true  American  is  a  conscien- 
tious man.  He  feels  as  a  vital  truth  that  no  one  liveth 
to  himself.  When  he  has  provided  for  his  own,  he  does 
not  think  that  he  has  accomplished  the  whole  duty  of 
man.  He  remembers  that,  although  he  has  demanded 
little  of  society,  he  has  in  reality  received  much.  Educa- 
tion, legal  protection,  the  unnumbered  benefits  flowing 
from  the  inventions,  the  sacrifices,  and  the  patriotism  of 
past  generations,  he  has  shared.  These  benefactions  he 
wishes  to  repay,  and  he  realizes  that  most  of  them  he 
must  pay  for  through  the  activities  of  good  citizenship. 
And  especially  does  he  realize  that  no  man  can  pay  these 


ARCHBISHOP  JOHN  IRELAND  217 

debts  by  merely  living  justly  in  private  life  and  kindly 
within  the  circle  of  his  immediate  family  and  personal 
friends.  There  is  no  more  wretched  sophistry  than  that 
which  excuses  unprincipled  conduct  in  politics,  on  the 
ground  that  the  wrong-doer  has  always  been  a  good  hus- 
band and  father,  and  an  honorable  man  in  his  private 
affairs.  No  nation  can  endure  which  draws  fine  distinc- 
tions between  public  and  private  morality.  There  is  only 
one  kind  of  honor,  there  is  only  one  recognized  brand  of 
common  honesty.  A  man  who,  to  servo  his  party,  be- 
comes a  liar  and  a  thief,  is  a  liar  and  a  thief,  through  and 
through,  in  every  fibre  of  his  being,  though  he  never  told 
a  falsehood  to  his  wife  or  robbed  an  orphan  niece  of  her 
inheritance. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  is  sophistry?  2.  Is  there  any  distinction  between 
public  and  private  morality?  3.  Why  does  Professor  Giddings 
speak  of  honesty  as  common  honesty? 

AMERICA,  A  WORLD  POWER 
Archbishop  John  Ireland 

To  do  great  things,  to  meet  fitly  great  responsibilities, 
a  nation  like  a  person,  must  be  conscious  of  its  dignity 
and  its  power.  The  consciousness  of  what  she  is  and 
what  she  may  be  has  come  to  America.  She  knows  that 
she  is  a  great  nation.  To  take  its  proper  place  among 
the  others  of  the  earth  a  nation  must  be  known^  as  she  is, 
to  those  nations.  The  world  to-day  admires  and  respects 
America.  The  young  giant  of  the  West,  heretofore 
neglected  and  almost  despised  in  his  remoteness  and 
isolation,  is  now  moving  as  becomes  his  stature.  The 
world  sees  what  he  is  and  pictures  what  he  will  be.     All 


218  AMERICANIZATION 

this  does  not  happen  by  accident.  An  all-ruling  Provi- 
dence directs  the  movements  of  humanity. 

To-day  we  proclaim  a  new  order  of  things.  America 
is  too  great  to  be  isolated  from  the  world  around  her  and 
beyond  her.  She  is  a  world  power,  to  whom  no  world- 
interest  is  ahen,  whose  voice  reaches  afar;  whose  spirit 
travels  across  seas  and  mountain  ranges  to  most  distant 
continents  and  islands;  and  with  America  goes  far  and 
wide  what  America  in  her  grandest  ideal  represents — 
democracy  and  liberty,  a  government  of  the  people,  by 
the  people,  for  the  people.  This  is  American  more 
than  American  territory,  or  American  shipping,  or 
American  soldiery.  Where  this  grandest  ideal  of  Ameri- 
can life  is  not  held  supreme,  America  has  not  reached 
complete  self-mastery;  where  this  ideal  is  supreme 
America  reigns.  The  vital  significance  of  America's 
triumphs  is  not  understood  unless  by  those  triumphs  is 
understood  the  triumph  of  democracy  and  liberty. 

That  at  times  wonderful  things  come  through  war  we 
must  admit,  but  that  they  come  through  war  and  not 
through  methods  of  peaceful  justice,  we  must  ever 
regret.  When  they  do  come  through  war  their  beauty 
and  grandeur  are  dimmed  by  the  memory  of  the  suf- 
ferings and  carnage,  which  were  their  price.  We  say  in 
defense  of  [war  [that  its  purpose  was  justice,  but  is  it 
worthy  of  Christian  civilization  that  there  is  no  other 
way  to  justice  than  war,  that  nations  are  forced  to  stoop 
to  the  methods  of  animals  and  the  savage?  Time  was 
when  individuals  gave  battle  to  each  other  in  the  name 
of  justice ;  it  was  the  time  of  social  barbarism.  Tribunals 
have  since  taken  to  themselves  the  administration  of 
justice,  and  how  much  better  is  it  for  the  happiness  and 
progress  of  mankind! 

It  is  force  or  chance  that  decides  the  battle.     Justice 


GROVER  CLEVELAND  219 

herself  is  not  heard.  The  decision  of  justice  is  what  it 
was  before  the  battle,  the  judgment  of  one  party.  Must 
we  not  hope  that  with  the  widening  influence  of  reason 
and  of  religion  among  men,  the  day  is  approaching  when 
justice  shall  be  enthroned  upon  a  great  international 
tribunal,  before  which  nations  shall  bow.  demanding 
from  it  justice  and  peace? 

It  was  Wellington  who  said,  "Take  my  word  for  it,  if 
you  had  seen  but  one  day  of  war  you  would  pray  to 
Almighty  God  that  you  might  never  see  such  a  thing 
again."  It  was  Napoleon  who  said,  "The  sight  of  a 
battlefield  after  the  fight  is  enough  to  inspire  princes  with 
a  love  of  peace  and  a  horror  of  war." 

When  shall  humanity  rise  to  such  heights  of  reason 
and  of  religion  that  war  shall  be  impossible,  and  stories  of 
battlefields  but  the  saddening  echoes  of  primitive  ages 
of  the  race? 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  important  things  have  come  to  America  through 
war?    2.    Could  these  have  been  achieved  through  peace? 
3.    Who  was  Wellington? 

EDUCATED  MEN  AND  POLITICS* 
Grover  Cleveland 

In  a  speech  at  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  founding  of  Princeton  University,  President  Cleve- 
land said: 

"The  disposition  of  our  people  is  such  that  while  they 
may  be  inclined  to  distrust  those  who  only  on  rare  occa- 
sions come  among  them  from  a  seclusion  savoring  of 
assumed  superiority,  they  readily  listen  to  those  who 

*By  courtesy  of  Frances  F.  Cleveland  Preston. 


220  AMERICANIZATION 

exhibit  a  real  fellowship  and  a  friendly  and  habitual 
interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  common  welfare.  Such 
a  condition  of  intimacy  would,  I  believe,  not  only  improve 
the  general  political  atmosphere,  but  would  vastly 
increase  the  influence  of  our  universities  and  colleges 
in  their  efforts  to  prevent  popular  delusions  or  correct 
them  before  they  reach  an  acute  and  dangerous  stage. 

*'I  am  certain,  therefore,  that  a  more  constant  and 
active  participation  in  political  affairs  on  the  part  of  our 
men  of  education  would  be  of  the  greatest  possible  value 
to  our  country.  It  is  exceedingly  unfortunate  that 
politics  should  be  regarded  in  any  quarter  as  an  unclean 
thing,  to  be  avoided  by  those  claiming  to  be  educated 
or  respectable.  It  would  be  strange  indeed  if  anything 
related  to  the  administration  of  our  government  or  the 
welfare  of  our  nation  should  be  essentially  degrading.  I 
believe  it  is  not  a  superstitious  sentiment  that  leads  to 
the  conviction  that  God  has  watched  over  our  national 
life  from  its  beginning.  Who  will  say  that  things  worthy 
of  God's  regard  and  fostering  care  are  unworthy  of  the 
touch  of  the  wisest  and  best  of  men? 

"I  would  have  those  sent  out  by  our  universities  and 
colleges  not  only  the  counselors  of  their  fellow-country- 
men, but  the  tribunes  of  the  people — ^fully  appreciating 
every  condition  that  presses  upon  their  daily  life,  sympa- 
thetic in  every  outward  situation,  quick  and  earnest  in 
every  effort  to  advance  their  happiness  and  welfare,  and 
prompt  and  sturdy  in  the  defence  of  all  their  rights. 

*'I  have  but  imperfectly  expressed  the  thoughts  to 
which  I  have  not  been  able  to  deny  utterance  on  an 
occasion  so  full  of  glad  significance  and  so  pervaded  by 
the  atmosphere  of  patriotic  aspiration.  Born  of  these 
surroundings,  the  hope  cannot  be  vain  that  the  time  is  at 
hand  when  all  our  countrymen  will  more  deeply  appre- 


GROVER  CLEVELAND 


IRVING  BACHELLER  223 

ciate  the  blessings  of  American  citizenship,  when  their 
disinterested  love  of  their  government  will  be  quickened, 
when  fanaticism  and  passion  shall  be  banished  from  the 
fields  of  politics,  and  when  all  our  people,  discarding 
every  difference  of  condition  or  opportunity,  shall  be  seen 
under  the  banner  of  American  brotherhood,  marching 
steadily  and  unfalteringly  on  toward  the  bright  heights 
of  our  national  destiny." 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  What  has  been  the  most  important  factor  improving  the 
general  political  atmosphere  since  1890?  2.  Who  was  Grover 
Cleveland? 


COMMON  SENSE* 
Irving  Bacheller 

There  are  two  kinds  of  sense  in  men — Common  and 
Preferred,  plain  and  fancy.  The  common  has  become 
the  great  asset  of  mankind;  the  preferred  its  great  lia- 
bility. Our  forefathers  had  large  holdings  of  the  com- 
mon, certain  kings  and  their  favorites  of  the  preferred. 
The  preferred  represented  an  immense  bulk  of  inherited 
superiority.  It  always  drew  dividends  whether  the 
common  got  anything  or  not.  The  preferred  holders 
ran  the  plant  and  insisted  that  they  held  a  first  mortgage 
on  it.  When  they  tried  to  foreclose  with  military  power 
to  back  them  some  of  our  forefathers  got  out. 

Now  if  the  last  three  years  have  taught  us  anything 
it  is  this :  The  superman  is  going  to  be  unsupered.  Con- 
sidering the  high  cost  of  upkeep  and  continuous  adula- 

*From  a  speech  before  the  New  England  Society  of  New  York 
City,  December,  1917. 


224  AMEEICANIZATION 

tion  he  does  not  pay.  He  is  in  the  nature  of  a  needless 
tax  upon  human  life  and  security.  His  mistakes  even, 
to  use  no  harsher  word,  have  slaughtered  more  human 
beings  than  there  are  in  the  world.  The  born  gentleman 
and  professional  aristocrat,  with  a  hot  air  receiver  on  his 
name,  who  lives  in  a  tower  of  inherited  superiority  and 
looks  down  at  life  through  hazy  distance  with  a  tele- 
scope has  and  can  have  no  common  sense.  His  disposi- 
tion is  above  reproach;  he  is  a  brave  soldier;  he  knows 
the  habits  of  the  grouse  and  the  stag;  he  can  give  an 
admirable  dinner;  he  is  acquainted  with  the  history  and 
principles  of  international  law;  he  can  obey  orders,  but 
when  international  law  becomes  international  anarchy 
and  the  orders  are  worthless  he  is  not  big  enough  to  dis- 
obey them  and  find  the  way  of  common  sense  through 
an  emergency.  He  has  not  that  intimate  knowledge  of 
human  nature  which  comes  only  of  a  long  and  close 
contact  with  human  beings.  Without  that  knowledge 
he  will  know  no  more  of  what  is  in  the  other  fellow's 
mind  and  the  bluff  that  covers  it,  in  a  critical  clash  of 
wits,  than  a  baby  sucking  its  bottle  in  a  perambulator. 
He  fails,  and  the  cost  of  his  failure  no  man  can  estimate. 
He  stands,  discredited.  As  a  public  servant,  he  is  going 
into  disuse  and  his  going  vindicates,  at  last,  the  judgment 
of  our  forefathers  regarding  like  holders  of  sense  pre- 
ferred. It  is  a  long  step  toward  democracy  and  the 
security  of  the  world. 

My  friends,  be  of  good  cheer.     The  God  of  our  Fathers 
has  not  been  Kaisered  or  Krupped  or  hurried  in  the  least . 

The  shouting  and  the  tumult  dies, 
The  captains  and  the  kings  depart, 
Still  stands  Thine  ancient  sacrifice. 
The  humble  and  the  contrite  heart. 
Oh,  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet, 
Lest  we  forget — lest  we  forget. 


lEVING  BACHELLER  225 

Lest  we  forget  that  the  spirit  of  man  has  been  lifted 
up  out  of  the  mud  and  dust  of  the  battle  lines,  out  of  the 
body  tortured  with  pain  and  weariness  and  vermin,  out 
of  the  close  companionship  of  the  dead  into  high  associa- 
tion on  the  bloody  altar  of  liberty  and  sacrifice. 

Lest  we  forget  the  high  spirit  of  our  own  boys  and 
our  duty  to  put  our  house  in  order  and  make  it  a  fit 
place  for  them  to  live  in  when  they  shall  have  returned 
to  it  from  battlefields,  swept,  as  a  soldier  has  written,  by 
the  cleansing  winds  of  God. 

PRIVATE  GODS  THE  WORST  ENEMIES  OF 

DEMOCRACY* 

Irving  Bacheller 

It  had  been  going  on  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century  in 
France,  England,  Italy,  Germany  and  America.  Sud- 
denly the  king  of  all  the  kings  appeared. 

He  was  richer  than  most  of  them.  He  had  more 
power  than  all  of  them  put  together.  He  had  grown 
out  of  the  same  roots  of  idleness,  conceit  and  self- 
indulgence.  He  had  seventy  million  employees — think 
of  that!  His  enjoyments  were  as  private  as  those  of  an 
octopus.  He  had  his  own  private  army  and  navy,  his 
own  churches  and  colleges.  He  trained  a  corps  of 
private  historians  and  philosophers,  he  bribed  priests 
and  suborned  prophets  with  his  money,  and  frightened 
honest  men  into  silence  with  his  power.  Thus  he  began 
to  teach  his  seventy  million  employees  that  might  was 
right. 

By  and  by  William  decided  that  he  would  have  the 
earth  for  his  own  private  world — a  kind  of  private 

*Adapted  from  an  article  in  Everybody's  Magazine,  March,  1920. 
Used  by  permission  of  the  author. 


326  AMEEICANIZATION 

yacht  sailing  the  infinite  deep  with  every  one  thrown 
overboard  or  hustled  into  the  fo'castle  save  those  who 
wanted  him  for  captain.  Human  conceit  and  selfish- 
ness had  come  to  their  logical  and  prodigious  climax  in 
this  man.  We  hated  him  and  all  that  he  stood  for,  but 
let  us  not  forget  that  he  was  the  consummation  of  the 
tendencies  of  modern  life,  of  its  greed  and  selfishness — 
that  he  was  the  perfect  flower  of  all  the  private  god- 
holders.  The  last  rung  in  the  ladder  of  conceit  and  self- 
indulgence  had  lifted  him  above  the  crowd  and  the  spirit 
of  democracy. 

For  long  he  had  been  sowing  the  seed  of  that  hatred 
which  we  feel.  Then  came  the  years  of  reaping  in 
vindication  of  the  one  God  who,  it  would  seem,  will  have 
no  other  gods  before  Him;  then  came  the  bloody  years 
against  whose  darkness  we  now  read  the  shining  legend : 
*'Thou  shalt  not  forget  the  law.'^  Out  of  the  silence  of 
twenty  million  graves  the  blood  of  the  slain  cries  out  to 
the  living:  *'Thou  shalt  not  frown  upon  thy  neighbor 
or  live  apart  in  ignorance  of  his  needs  or  misuse  him  or 
seek  to  cry  him  down  with  your  degeneracy  and  turn 
his  heart  into  a  den  of  leopards.'' 

Now  are  we  not  face  to  face  with  the  great  lesson  of 
the  war?  Every  man  who  builds  a  private  god  and 
lives  with  little  care  for  his  neighbors  and  regards  his 
misbehavior  as  his  own  business  is  a  little  William  and  a 
peril  to  the  world. 

Civilization  is  founded  on  the  intelligence  and  virtues 
of  the  common  folk.  We  must  build  up  and  protect 
these  sacred  things  or  democracy  will  go  down  the  path 
of  darkness  and  ruin.  Those  who  stand  in  high  places, 
crowned  with  success,  are  the  leaders  and  exemplars  of 
the  crowd — keepers  of  the  great  treasure. 

Now,  too,  we  are  face  to  face  with  the  fundamental 


THEODOEE  EOOSEVELT  227 

ideal  of  American  democracy.  It  is  no  new  discovery. 
It  is  very  old  and  yet  the  divinity  that  dwells  in  it 
groweth  not  old  nor  can  it  be  slain  in  battles.  It  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  love  of  men  which  leads 
to  education  and  respect  for  justice  and  good-will  and 
honor  in  all  and  for  all. 

I  would  like  to  see  a  legend  to  this  effect  on  every 
study  wall  in  the  land : 

"Remember,  oh,  young  man,  in  the  days  of  your  youth, 
remember  that  there  is  one  thing  vastly  greater  than  any 
individual  can  hope  to  be.  It  is  the  spirit  of  man 
endowed  with  the  wisdom  of  the  innumerable  dead  and 
expressing  itself  in  the  civil  and  moral  law.  The  degree 
of  a  man's  respect  for  that  law  has  been  and  ever  will 
be  the  test  of  his  mental  soundness.  Remember,  too, 
that  while  it  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  have  power  and  riches, 
this  world  has  never  seen  so  hard  a  master.'' 


CLEAN  POLITICS* 
Theodore  Roosevelt 

To  have  clean  politics,  you  have  got  to  have  the  bulk 
of  the  community  interested  in  a  common  sense  way 
in  getting  them.  If  you  get  together  and  ask  for  reform 
as  if  it  wa«  a  concrete  substance  like  cake,  you  are  not 
going  to  get  it.  If  you  think  you  have  performed  your 
duty  by  coming  together  once  in  a  public  hall  about 
three  weeks  before  election  and  advocating  something 
that  you  know  perfectly  well  it  is  impossible  to  get,  you 
are  going  to  be  fooled.  You  have  got  to  work  and  you 
have  got  to  work  practically;  and  you  have  got  to 

*  Adapted  from  an  address  before  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
Syraciree,  New  York,  February  17,  1899. 


228  AMEEICANIZATION 

remember  that  to  be  practical  does  not  mean  to  be  foul. 
A  man  must  strive  continually  to  make  things  a  little 
better;  put  things  on  a  little  higher  plane.  But  he  has 
got  to  remember  the  instruments  with  which  he  works; 
he  has  got  to  remember  the  men  with  whom  he  serves. 

In  the  first  place,  he  cannot  do  anything  if  he  doesn't 
work  as  an  American.  You  meet  a  certain  number  of 
good  people  who  will  tell  you  continually  how  much 
better  things  are  done  abroad  than  here.  Well,  I  doubt 
if  they  are  right,  but  I  don't  care  if  they  are.  You  have 
got  to  deal  with  what  we  have  got  here,  and  you  cannot 
do  anything  if  you  do  not  work  as  an  American.  You 
have  got  to  work  in  sympathy  with  the  people  around 
you. 

In  the  next  place  you  have  got  to  feel  as  an  American 
in  other  ways.  You  have  got  to  have  ingrained  the 
genuine  democracy,  the  genuine  republicanisms  of  our 
institutions,  of  our  form  of  government  and  habits. 
We  cannot  accomplish  reform  by  the  aid  of  merchant 
and  manufacturer  and  business  man  alone.  We  have 
got  to  get  reform  by  working  for  the  eternal  principles  of 
right,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  with  all  who  beUeve  in  those 
principles,  so  that  the  mechanic  and  the  manufacturer, 
the  farmer  and  the  hired  man,  the  banker,  the  clerk  and 
the  artisan  will  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  to  strive  for 
the  same  purpose,  for  the  same  ideal. 

I  ask  you  then  to  strive  for  clean  politics,  not  by  pro- 
fessing your  devotion  to  the  cause  on  one  night  or  another 
night  of  the  year,  but  by  taking  more  active,  steady 
interest  in  bettering  our  politics.  I  ask  you  to  strive 
for  them,  not  by  refusing  to  recognize  conditions  as  they 
are,  but  by  recognizing  them  and  then  trying  to  make 
them  better;  not  to  delude  yourself  into  the  belief  that 
you  need  not  strive  to  better  matters.    Remember  that 


DON  D.  LESCOHIER  229 

if  you  do  not  strive  to  make  things  a  little  higher  you 
had  better  get  out  of  politics.  If  you  are  only  content 
to  keep  step  with  the  mass  of  your  people  round  about, 
why  then  you  do  not  count  one  way  or  the  other. 

I  ask  you  to  work  for  decent  politics,  to  work  for  clean 
politics,  to  work  in  practical  ways,  not  promise  more  than 
you  can  perform,  but  holding  ever  before  you,  that  if  you 
wish  to  see  this  Republic  continue  a  free  and  great 
Republic  and  if  you  wish  to  see  America  take  her  proper 
place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  you  must  make  up 
your  minds  to  the  fact  that  you  can  see  it  only  when  each 
American  remains  true  to  the  steadfast  idea  of  honesty, 
of  courage,  of  manliness  in  civic  no  less  than  in  social 
life. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.  Does  Roosevelt  use  "got"  correctly  in  his  first  sentence? 
2.  Does  his  use  of  "got"  throughout  this  selection  add  force  to 
his  style?  Purists  would  call  his  use  of  "got"  in  several  of  his 
sentences  ungrammatical.  Less  exacting  stylists  would  term 
them  idiomatic.  Consult  y^ur  dictionaries  and  grammars  "VNdth 
reference  to  the  use  and  meaning  of  "got."  3.  Purists  would 
insist  on  the  use  of  "were"  for  "was"  in  the  second  sentence. 
Why?  "Were"  is  less  forceful  than  "was"  because  it  is  subjunc- 
tive, and  this  mode  of  the  verb  is  rapidly  disappearing  from  our 
language. 

AMERICANIZATION,  WHAT  IS  IT? 
Don  D.  Lescohier 

Americanization  in  the  United  States,  and  Canadian- 
ization  in  Canada,  differ  fundamentally  in  their  spirit, 
method,  and  purpose  from  the  efforts  of  Germany  to 
Germanize  Poland,  Schleswig-Holstein,  and  Alsace- 
Lorraine;  of  Austria  to  Austrianize  the  Czechs  and 
Croats;  and  of  Turkey  to  suppress  the  nationalism  of  the 


230  AMERICANIZATION 

Armenians.  The  Central  Powers  tried  to  crush  tha 
national  cultures  and  customs  of  peoples  over  whom^ 
they  had  acquired  power  by  force  of  arms.  They  con- 
tinually subjected  them  to  the  efforts  of  conquerors  who 
sought  to  suppress  the  language  and  traditions  that  had 
obtained  in  the  acquired  territories,  and  to  compel  the 
use  of  the  language,  government,  and  culture  of  the 
conqueror. 

Americanization  has  nothing  in  common  with  such 
efforts  as  these.  It  is  an  effort  to  assist  the  alien  among 
us  to  understand,  appreciate,  and  partake  of  the  best  in 
American  life  and  thought.  It  is  an  effort  to  provide 
facilities  that  will  enable  him  to  become  an  integral  part 
of  America  and  its  life.  It  is  a  movement  to  help  him 
share  the  privileges  and  benefits  that  a  democracy  offers 
to  its  people,  and  to  fit  him  for  his  responsibilities  as  a 
citizen  in  a  democratic  commonwealth.  It  aims  to 
help  him  know  our  national  life;  to  help  him  make  our 
traditions,  heroes,  and  ideals  his;  to  inspire  in  him  a  love 
for  America  and  what  it  stands  for;  to  win  his  heart  to 
the  things  we  love. 

But  Americanization  is  more  than  this.  It  is  as  neces- 
sary for  Americans  to  understand  the  peoples  who  have 
come  to  them  from  foreign  lands  as  for  these  people  to 
become  acquainted  with  America.  Every  people  whose 
feet  have  pressed  our  soil  has  brought  to  us  traditions, 
customs,  capacities,  ideals,  and  personal  qualities  which 
are  of  inestimable  value  to  America.  Each  race  or 
nationality,  when  it  first  came  to  our  shores,  had  to  start 
at  the  bottom  of  the  economic  ladder.  Each  one's 
capacity  was  undervalued  by  the  American  during  the 
early  years  of  its  immigration  to  America,  because  it  had 
to  rely  principally  upon  common  labor  for  a  livelihood 


DON  D.  LESCOHIEE  231 

while  it  was  learning  our  language  and  customs  and  fitting 
itself  into  our  national  life.  The  indifference  and  hardly- 
disguised  contempt  which  a  large  number  of  Americans 
felt  toward  the  Italian  or  the  Slav  during  the  twenty-five 
years  from  1890  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  was  experi- 
enced in  earlier  years  by  the  Irishman,  and  in  many 
parts  of  the  country,  by  the  German,  Scandinavian,  and 
Belgian.  It  is  as  necessary  to  help  the  American  under- 
stand the  newcomer  and  appreciate  the  contribution 
which  he  will  make  to  our  national  life  as  to  help  the 
immigrant  understand  the  American. 

There  is  another  point  which  Americans  must  be 
taught  to  remember.  Every  ahen  who  comes  to  America 
comes  here  because  he  believes  that  America  is  a  better 
place  to  live  than  his  homeland.  He  comes  here  hopefully, 
expectantly,  eagerly.  He  comes  here  in  a  receptive 
mood.  The  only  reason  that  alien  propaganda  has  been 
able  to  retain  a  hold  on  part  of  the  immigrants  has  been 
that  we  have  failed  to  provide  them  with  proper  educa- 
tional, industrial,  and  social  opportunities  to  become  a 
real  part  of  our  life.  They  have  not  found  us  responsive, 
and  their  enthusiasm  has  been  chilled.  They  have 
concluded  that  we  did  not  care  about  them.  American- 
ization must  teach  the  American  to  value  the  people 
who  have  come  to  us,  and  cause  him  to  assist  the  alien 
to  enter  into  the  privileges  and  duties  of  America's 
adopted  sons. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.  In  what  western  state  are  two  languages  spoken  in  the 
legislature,  making  interpreters  necessary  for  legislators  who 
cannot  speak  a  word  of  the  English  language?  Is  this  a  whole- 
some condition  of  affairs?  (N.  B.  The  state  herein  referred  to 
is  New  Mexico.) 


232  AMEKICANIZATION" 

THE  DUTY  OF  CHRISTIAN   CITIZENSHIP* 
T.  Dewitt  Talmadge 

Ephesus  was  upside  down.  The  manufacturers  of 
silver  boxes  for  holding  heathen  images  had  collected 
their  laborers  together  to  discuss  the  behavior  of  one 
Paul,  who  had  been  in  public  places  assaulting  image 
worship,  and  consequently  very  much  damaging  their 
business.  There  was  great  excitement  in  the  city.  Peo- 
ple stood  in  knots  along  the  streets,  violently  gesticula- 
ting and  calling  one  another  hard  names.  Some  of  the 
people  favored  the  policy  of  the  silversmiths;  others  the 
policy  of  Paul.  Finally  they  called  a  convention — "for 
conventions  have  been  the  panacea  of  evil  in  all  ages.'^ 
When  they  assembled  they  all  wanted  the  floor,  and  all 
wanted  to  talk  at  once.  Some  wanted  to  denounce, 
some  to  resolve.  At  last  the  convention  rose  in  a  body, 
all  shouting  together,  till  some  were  red  in  the  face  and 
sore  in  the  throat:  ''Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians; 
Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians!"  Well,  the  whole 
scene  reminds  me  of  the  excitement  we  witness  at  the 
autunmal  elections.  While  the  goddess  Diana  has  lost 
her  worshippers,  our  American  people  want  to  set  up  a 
god  in  place  of  it,  and  call  it  political  party.  While  there 
are  true  men.  Christian  men,  standing  in  both  political 
parties,  who  go  into  the  elections  resolved  to  serve  their 
city,  their  state,  their  country,  in  the  best  possible  way, 
yet  in  the  vast  majority  it  is  a  question  between  the 
peas  and  the  oats.  One  party  cries:  ''Great  is  Diana  of 
the  Ephesians!"  and  the  other  cries:  "Great  is  Diana  of 
the  Ephesians!"  when,  in  truth,  both  are  crying,  if  they 

*See  Acts  XIX  :21-41 


T.  DEWITT  TALMADGE  233 

were  but  honest  enough  to  admit  it:     "Great  is  my 
pocketbook." 

What  is  the  duty  of  Christian  citizenship.  If  the 
Norwegian  boasts  of  his  home  of  rocks;  and  the  Siberian 
is  happy  in  his  land  of  perpetual  snow;  and  if  the  Roman 
thought  .the  muddy  Tiber  was  the  favored  river  of 
Heaven;  and  the  Chinese  pities  everybody  bom  out  of 
the  Flowery  Kingdom,  shall  not  we,  in  this  land  of 
glorious  liberty,  have  some  thought  and  love  for  country . 
There  is  a  power  higher  than  the  ballot  box,  the  guberna- 
torial chair  or  the  president's  house.  To  preserve  the 
institutions  of  our  country  we  must  recognize  this  power 
in  our  politics.  See  how  men  make  every  effort  to  clam- 
ber into  higher  positions,  but  are  cast  down.  God 
opposes  them.  Every  man,  every  nation  that  proved 
false  to  Divine  expectation,  down  it  went.  God  said  to 
Bourbon,  "Remodel  France  and  establish  equity."  It 
would  not  do  it.  Down  it  went.  God  said  to  the  house 
of  Stuart:  "Make  the  people  of  England  happy.^' 
It  would  not  do  it.  Down  it  went.  He  said  to  the  house 
of  Hapsburg:  "Reform  Austria  and  set  the  prisoners 
free."  It  would  not  do  it.  Down  it  went.  He  says 
to  men  now:  "Reform  abuses,  enlighten  the  people, 
make  peace  and  justice  to  reign."  They  don't  do  it,  and 
they  tumble.  How  many  wise  men  will  go  to  the  polls, 
high  with  hope,  and  be  sent  back  to  their  firesides.  God 
can  spare  them.  If  He  could  spare  Washington  before 
free  government  was  tested,  Howard  while  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  dungeons  had  been  unvisited,  and  Wilberforce 
before  the  chains  had  dropped  from  millions  of  slaves, 
then  Heaven  can  spare  another  man.  The  man  who,  for 
party,  forsakes  righteousness,  goes  down;  and  the  bat- 
talions of  God  march  over  him. 


234  AMEEICANIZATION 

SCHOOL  ACTIVITIES  AND 
PUBLIC  SERVICE* 
William  McAndrew 

Many  high  schools  maintain  general  organizations 
and  special  clubs — glee  clubs,  athletic  teams,  orchestras, 
and  dramatic  societies.  Is  membership  in  these  capable 
of  developing  consideration  for  others?  Are  there  any 
schoolboys  who  are  too  selj&sh  to  make  the  reasonable 
sacrifices  necessary  to  pay  their  regular  periodic  dues 
for  the  support  of  such  societies?  Does  it  not  seem 
as  though  a  glee  club,  a  dramatic  club,  or  an  athletic 
team  might  be  justified  as  affording  exercise  in  adding 
to  the  happiness  of  a  large  company  of  spectators?  High 
school  organizations  quite  generally  get  as  far  as  that. 
They  awaken  an  individual  to  do  something  for  a  larger 
interest  than  one's  own.  Critics  of  high  schools  urge  us 
to  go  further  than  this.  They  say  that  we  make  a  great 
ado  about  cultivating  class  spirit  and  school  spirit,  but 
with  no  definite  object  except  class  spirit  or  school  spirit. 
It  evaporates  in  class  yells  or  school  songs  or  in  the  wear- 
ing of  colors  or  pins.  It  makes  what  is  sometimes  called 
the  ' 'rah-rah  boy." 

Some  would-be  philosopher  asked  Socrates  to  describe 
his  idea  of  ''the  good." 

"Good  for  what?"  asked  Socrates. 

"Oh,  I  don't  mean  it  that  way.  I  mean  the  abstract 
idea  of  the  good." 

"I  know  what  is  good  for  a  cold,"  said  Socrates,  "and 
good  for  a  sore  foot;  but  if  you  mean  good  for  nothing  in 
particular,  I  neither  know  nor  care  to  know  of  any  such 
thing." 

*From  an  article  in  The  Outlook,  April  14,  1920.  Used  by  per- 
mission. 


WILLIAM  McANDREW  335 

A  school  that  uses  its  glee  clubs,  its  orchestra,  and  other 
such  organizations  regularly  and  often  for  the  actual 
good  of  some  interest  wider  than  the  school;  an  organiza- 
tion that  gives  concerts  for  the  benefit  of  a  city  hospital, 
or  a  flower  guild,  or  a  National  Child  Labor  Committee, 
or  any  one  of  the  numerous  general  welfare  agencies 
which  are  all  about  us,  is  training  Americans  for  public 
welfare,  is  it  not?  What  public  service  wider  than  the 
advantage  to  itself  has  the  individual  school  done? 

During  the  war  school  boys  and  girls  rendered  personal 
service  for  the  general  welfare.  The  majority  of  thinking 
citizens  now  realize  that  this  is  the  best  kind  of  fitting  for 
citizenship.  The  old  idea  of  school  as  a  training  for  life 
later  on  is  being  replaced  by  the  proposal  that  school 
should  be  life  itself.  We  are  living  now.  We  are 
Americans  now.  You  who  are  in  school  should  not  put 
off  American  action  until  after  you  leave  school;  but  you 
should  form  the  habit  of  thinking  and  acting  public- 
mindedly  now,  while  you  are  being  supported  by  the 
public.  You  should  give  while  you  are  receiving. 
Those  who  conduct  your  school  provide  that  you  shall 
salute  your  country's  flag,  sing  patriotic  songs,  and  learn 
patriotic  quotations.  This  is  good.  When  a  schoolboy 
writes  a  patriotic  oration,  he  exhorts  his  hearers  to  be 
real  patriots.  This  is  good.  But  if  these  things  end  in 
exhorting  others  or  in  mere  words,  it  is  lip  service.  How 
much  is  it  worth? 


Questions  and  Exercises 
1 .    Is  the  *  'rah-rah  boy' '  the  predominant  type  in  your  school? 
2.    How  can  your  school  activities  be  used  for  community 
service? 


236  AMERICANIZATION 

THE  IMMIGRANTS— OURSELVES* 
Fred  C.  Butler 

We  hear  much  to-day  about  Americanization  but 
there  seems  to  be  a  great  deal  of  confusion  regarding  it. 
Some  advocate  driving  out  of  the  country  all  who  fail 
to  become  Americanized  within  a  short  time.  Others 
insist  we  must  make  them  stop  talking  in  any  language 
but  English. 

In  all  this  confusion  of  counsels  I  am  often  reminded 
of  the  Irishman  who  was  asked  by  a  stranger  how  to 
reach  a  certain  nearby  town  which  was  almost  inacces- 
sible. The  Irishman  scratched  his  head  for  a  minute 
and  finally  said:  "If  I  was  you  I  wouldn't  start  from 
here." 

Before  we  can  reach  Americanization  we  must  know 
just  what  we  mean  by  the  term.  It  is  a  very  simple 
thing.  May  I  explain  my  conception  of  it  in  the  fol- 
lowing way? 

America  is  almost  unique  among  the  nations.  It  is 
one  of  the  few  countries  without  a  native  population. 
All  the  people  in  America  are  of  foreign  parentage  save 
only  the  Indians.  The  only  difference  between  the 
various  people  is  the  length  of  time  they  or  their  families 
have  lived  here.  Some  trace  their  arrival  to  the  first 
trip  of  the  Mayflower  and  others  to  the  last  trip  of  the 
Mauretania. 

We  are  all  of  us  foreign  born  or  of  foreign  parentage. 
We  all  came  to  this  new  land  to  secure  a  fuller  measure  of 
life — greater  political  or  religious  freedom;  greater  oppor- 
tunity for  mental  or  physical  advancement,  greater 
rewards  for  our  efforts. 

*By  permission  of  the  General  Federation  Magazine,  Inc. 


FEED  C.  BUTLER  237 

From  the  very  first  America  became  a  thing  apart,  a 
new  idea  in  this  matter  of  life.  Th6  physical  dangers 
into  which  the  first  settlers  were  thrust  developed  a 
peculiar  initiative;  engendered  a  common  courage,  a 
resourcefulness  that  met  new  conditions  without  fear  or 
hesitation.  The  dangers  and  the  vastness  of  the  empire 
drove  the  few  inhabitants  together  for  mutual  help 
and  protection.  Governments  were  instituted,  rough, 
uncouth,  but  just.  Men  were  all  equals.  The  great 
opportunities  provided  ample  field  for  the  ambitions  of 
all,  encouraging  harmony.  The  common  danger  kept 
men  together,  encouraging  organization. 

Perhaps  no  better  mould  could  be  conceived  in  which 
to  cast  a  race.  For  two  hundred  years  this  process  went 
on.  As  the  dangers  of  the  primeval  were  conquered  in 
one  zone,  a  new  tide  of  hardy  pioneers  moved  westward 
to  meet  and  overcome  new  obstacles.  In  such  a  field 
a  new  race  was  bred.  Small  wonder  that  it  differed  from 
all  the  other  races  of  earth  from  which  it  sprang.  New 
ideas  of  human  brotherhood;  theories  of  government; 
visions  of  the  rights  of  men,  were  the  natural  fruits  of 
such  a  soil.  So  gradually  there  came  into  being  that 
which  we  call  the  American  ideal.  Who  shall  define  it? 
As  well  try  to  define  truth,  purity,  justice.  Any  defini- 
tion however  broad  would  serve  only  to  limit  it. 

As  this  ideal  began  to  take  form,  men  from  all  over 
the  world  were  attracted  to  it.  As  it  was  threatened 
from  time  to  time,  men  from  nations  everywhere  came 
to  its  defense.  The  soil  of  America  was  sanctified  by 
the  bravest  blood  of  England,  France,  Poland,  Italy, 
yea,  of  Germany;  of  many  nations. 

The  story  of  America  spread  through  the  world. 
The  hearts  of  oppressed  men  everywhere  beat  with  new 


238  AMEKICANIZATIO]^ 

life  as  they  heard  of  this  strange  country  where  men^s 
liberties  were  limit'ed  only  by  their  rights. 

America  itself  may  be  likened  to  one  of  its  own  com- 
munities. The  first  vanguard  of  pioneers  chose  a  site 
and  cleared  an  opening  in  the  forest.  Log  houses  grew 
up.  Men  established  trades  to  serve  their  fellows.  The 
church  and  the  school  came  at  once,  created  and  sup- 
ported by  the  labor  of  all.  As  newcomers  chose  to  cast 
their  lots  with  the  new  community  the  pioneers  turned 
out  to  help  them  erect  their  homes.  The  addition  of  a 
new  home  was  marked  by  a  house  warming  that  was  the 
ceremony  which  welcomed  the  newcomer  into  full  com- 
munity fellowship.  A  helping  hand  was  extended  to  the 
new  family  until  they  could  sow  and  reap  a  harvest. 
Seed  was  loaned  them.  The  community's  scant  hoard 
of  flour  and  meal  was  theirs  until  they  could,  in  turn, 
contribute  to  its  stock.  The  older  residents  showed  their 
new  friends  where  the  best  fish  were  caught,  where  the 
purest  water  flowed.  Their  children  were  welcomed 
into  the  schools. 

This  process  was  true  Americanization.  It  was  the 
assimilation  of  the  newcomer  into  the  brotherhood. 
Each  new  candidate  brought  trades,  arts,  knowledge, 
customs  which  enriched  the  whole.  The  freedom  of  the 
prairie,  the  simple  and  unaffected  life,  the  love  of  liberty, 
these  were  the  screens  which  sifted  out  the  worthy  from 
the  dross,  so  that  there  grew  up  an  ideal  which  was  fair 
and  just  and  noble. 


Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    Does  this  account  of  past  events  apply  to  conditions  to- 
day?    2.     How  does  the  changed  character  of  the  newer  im- 
migrants affect  the  problem  of  assimmilation? 


FEEDERIC  SIEDENBERG  239 

THE  AMERICANIZATION  PROBLEM* 
Frederic  Siedenburg 

The  story  of  America  is  not  told  in  the  story  of  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers;  it  is  not  told  by  the  battles  of  Yorktown 
or  Gettysburg  or  the  Argonne;  it  is  not  told  in  the  states- 
manship of  our  Jeffersons  or  in  the  poetry  of  our  Bryants 
or  the  philosophy  of  our  Brownsons,  or  even  in  the  inven- 
tions of  our  Edisons.  These  are  but  isolated  expressions 
of  our  spirit,  our  yearnings  and  our  achievements  of 
higher  things;  these  have  been  made  possible  and  have 
only  come  to  pass  because  since  the  dawn  of  our  nation 
thirty-five  million  souls  have  sought  our  shores  to  build 
here  their  firesides  and  their  altars,  and  to  cast  their 
fortunes  with  the  fortunes  of  free  America. 

To-day  for  the  first  time  in  our  history  Americans  are 
asked  to  Americanize  themselves  and  to  change  their 
narrow  attitude  toward  their  foreign-born  neighbors. 
For  the  first  time  Americans  are  becoming  aware  that 
they  have  in  their  midst  thirteen  millions  of  foreign-born 
human  beings  who  will  be  assets  or  liabilities  in  propor- 
tion as  the  native-born  appreciate  or  neglect  them. 

The  practical  programs  of  Americanization  insist  on 
campaigns  of  publicity,  on  the  teaching  of  English  and 
citizenship,  of  factory-schools,  and  of  a  wider  use  of 
public  agencies  and  libraries.  To  this  end  the  school, 
the  settlement  house,  and  the  church  are  invited  to  do 
their  share;  and  well  they  may,  for  the  work  is  urgent, 
and  these  are  obviously  the  first  steps  in  the  program. 
They  are  good  as  far  as  they  go;  but  if  we  look  into  the 
matter  more  closely,  we  find  that  they  are  but  palliatives 

*From  an  article  in  The  Rotarian  for  June,  1920.  With  permission 
of  the  author. 


^40  AMERICANIZATION 

or  the  second  best  thing,  and  that  the  real  remedy  must 
be  sought  in  something  more  fundamental. 

If  we  are  serious  and  really  wish  to  make  our  foreign 
bom  real  Americans,  let  us  throw  aside  our  national 
sham,  our  economic  and  our  social  sham  and  try  to 
make  America  what  the  foreigner  thought  it  was  before 
he  came  into  our  midst.  Let  us  give  the  foreign  born 
an  American  standard  of  living  and  we  will  at  once  solve 
90  per  cent  of  our  problem;  give  him  a  living  wage, 
safeguard  his  health  by  factories  and  sanitary  housing; 
give  him  a  chance  to  work  without  the  exploitation  of 
demagogue,  capitalist  or  labor  leader;  give  him  and  his 
children  a  chance  to  play — opportunities  for  wholesome 
recreation.  Give  him  the  essentials  of  education  and 
make  adult  education  as  compulsory  as  that  of  the 
child. 

Last  but  not  least  give  him  a  chance  at  the  higher 
things  of  life,  the  good,  the  beautiful,  and  the  true.  Do 
this  and  you  give  him  an  American  standard  of  living, 
and  automatically,  by  a  natural  evolution,  he  will  learn 
the  English  language,  he  will  cease  to  live  apart,  he  will 
really  live  and  not  just  exist,  and  he  will  be  conscious  of 
the  benefits  of  American  life  and  institutions.  There 
will  be  no  need  of  pressure  from  without;  economic  and 
social  conditions  will  lift  him  out  of  the  slums  into  better 
neighborhoods,  will  give  his  children  a  better  education, 
will  give  him  an  appreciation  of  America  and  its  spirit, 
and  lo !  he  will  be  an  American  second  to  none.  America 
ynW  then  and  then  only  be  the  true  melting  pot,  and,  as 
Zangwill  well  says: 

"The  East  and  the  West,  North  and  South^  the  palm 
and  the  pine,  the  pole  and  the  equator,  the  Crescent 
and  the  Cross — how  the  great  Alchemist  melts  and  fuses 
them  with  his  purging  flame!     Here  shall  they  all  unite 


PHILANDER  C.  KJSTOX  241 

to  build  the  Republic  of  man  and  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
Ah,  what  is  the  glory  of  Rome  and  Jerusalem  where  all 
nations  and  races  come  to  worship  and  look  back  com- 
pared with  the  glory  of  America,  where  all  races  and 
nations  come  to  labor  and  look  forward!" 

Questions  and  Exerciser 

1.  Do  you  agree  with  the  idea  expressed  in  the  first  para- 
graph? 2.  How  is  the  foreign-bom  laborer  exploited  by  the 
demagogue,  capitahst,  or  labor  leader?  3.  Who  is  Zangwill? 
4.  Can  you  orally  interpret  the  full  force  of  the  antithesis  con- 
tained in  the  closing  sentence? 

INTERNATIONAL  UNITY* 
Philander  C.  Knox 

''We  now  know  that  freedom  is  a  thing  incompatible 
with  corporate  life  and  a  blessing  probably  peculiar  to 
the  solitary  robber;  we  know  besides  that  every  advance 
in  richness  of  existence,  whether  moral  or  material,  is 
paid  for  by  a  loss  of  liberty;  that  liberty  is  man's  coin 
in  which  he  pays  his  way;  that  luxury  and  knowledge 
and  virtue,  and  love  and  the  family  affections  are  all  so 
many  fresh  fetters  on  the  naked  and  solitary  freeman." 

This  was  said  by  a  distinguished  writer  referring 
to  the  individual  units  who  have  constructed  the  po- 
litical systems  under  which  society  is  organized.  It 
applies  with  equal  truth  to  the  governments  they 
have  created.  Every  material  and  moral  advance  in 
the  sodality  of  nations,  for  universal,  as  distinguished 
from  local  or  domestic  purposes,  is  achieved  by  con- 
cessions restraining  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  the  liberty 

*From  an  address  delivered  before  the  Pennsylvania  Society  of 
New  York,  December,  1909. 


242  AMERICANIZATION 

of  action  of  individual  states  for  the  benefit  of  the  com- 
munity of  nations  and  in  obedience  to  the  demands  of 
an  international  public  opinion. 

These  concessions  to  international  unity  have  been 
brought  about  through  international  conference,  con- 
gresses, associations  and  meetings,  covering  such  a  wide 
range  of  the  material  needs  and  moral  aspirations  of 
nations,  as  to  make  it  quite  impossible  even  to  specify 
them  and  their  purpose  with  any  particularity.  Broadly 
speaking,  however,  they  have  been  designed  to  establish 
common  policies  in  large  political  and  economic  affairs, 
to  secure  cooperation  in  the  promotion  of  international 
harmony,  to  assuage  human  hardships,  to  elevate  the 
morals  of  the  world,  and  to  secure  the  blessings  of  uni- 
form and  enlightened  justice. 

"Nations  have  been  brought  together  by  material 
forces,  starting  into  action  greater  immaterial  forces. 
Electricity  is  finishing  what  steam  began.  Men  come 
close  together  who  breathe  a  common  intellectual  atmos- 
phere; who  are  fed  daily  by  the  same  currents  of  thought; 
who  hear  simultaneously  of  the  same  events;  who  are 
eager  to  disclose  to  each  other  whatever  new  thing, 
coming  to  the  knowledge  of  any,  is  worthy  the  notice 
of  all." 

The  disposition,  then,  to  take  concerted  international 
action  grows  with  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  by  the 
marvelous  modern  development  in  the  means  of  com- 
munication. Each  nation  instantaneously  feels  the  com- 
pulsion of  the  public  opinion  of  all  nations.  Compare, 
for  example,  modern  exchanges  of  views  between  govern- 
ments, swiftly  reaching  a  common  basis  of  action  and 
resulting  increasingly  in  ends  beneficent  to  the  whole 
world,  with  former  ignorance  and  mutual  suspicions 
largely  due  to  ignorance,  resulting  in  no  common  action 


JOHN  HAY  243 

and  permitting  aggressions  and  abuses  by  single  nations 
or  small  groups  which  to-day  the  concert  of  all  nations 
protests  against  more  and  more  loudly  and  less  and  less 
tolerates. 

Then,  just  as  individuals  and  separate  nations  advance 
in  the  fruits  of  civilization  and  display  in  their  conduct 
higher  regard  for  honesty  and  justice  and  peace,  and  less 
tolerance  for  wrong  and  oppression  and  cruelty,  so  these 
ideals  of  private  and  national  conduct  are  manifestly 
inspiring  all  nations  in  their  relations  with  each  other. 
As  nations  understand  each  other  better  and  the  world 
draws  closer  together  in  the  recognition  of  a  common 
humanity  and  conscience,  of  common  needs  and  pur- 
poses, there  is  carried  into  the  international  field  the 
insistent  demand  for  greater  unity  in  enforcing  every- 
where the  principles  of  a  high  morality  and,  by  restraints 
mutually  applied  and  observed,  all  the  human  ameliora- 
tions without  which  both  national  and  international  life 
would  soon  fall  into  anarchy  and  decadence. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1 .  Is  it  true  that  freedom  is  a  blessing '  'peculiar  to  the  solitary 
robber"?    2.    What  things  have  drawn  nations  closer  together? 


THE  PRESS  AND  MODERN  PROGRESS* 
John  Hay 

Of  all  the  phenomena  of  the  last  hundred  years  there 
is  none  more  wonderful  than  that  increase  of  useful 
knowledge  which  has  led  inevitably  to  a  corresponding 

*Address  at  the  opening  of  the  Press  Parliament  of  the  World, 
at  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  St,  Louis,  May  19,  1904. 


244  AMERICANIZATION 

increase  in  mutual  toleration  and  esteem.  The  credit 
of  this  great  advance  in  civilization  belongs  to  the  press 
of  the  world.  It  is  true  that  it  is  the  modest  boast  of 
modern  diplomacy  that  its  office  is  the  removal  of  mis- 
understandings— that  so  far  as  intentions  go  its  ways 
are  pleasantness  and  its  paths  are  peace;  but  how  slight 
are  the  results  that  the  best  intentioned  diplomat  can 
attain  in  this  direction  compared  with  the  illuminating 
blaze  of  light  which  the  press  each  morning  radiates  on 
the  universe?  We  cannot  claim  that  the  light  is  all  of 
one  color  nor  that  there  are  not  many  angles  of  refrac- 
tion but  from  this  endless  variety  of  opinion  and  asser- 
tion truth  at  last  emerges  and  every  day  adds  something 
to  the  world's  knowledge  of  itself.  There  is  a  wise 
French  proverb,  "To  understand  is  to  pardon/'  and 
every  step  of  progress  which  the  peoples  of  the  earth 
make  in  their  comprehension  of  each  others  conditions 
and  motives  is  a  step  forward  in  the  march  to  the  goal 
desired  by  men  and  angels,  of  universal  peace  and 
brotherhood. 

The  highest  victory  of  great  power  is  that  of  self- 
restraint  and  it  would  be  a  beneficent  result  of  this 
memorable  meeting,  this  ecumenical  council  of  the  press. 
If  it  taught  us  all — the  brethren  of  this  mighty 
priesthood — that  mutual  knowledge  of  each  other  which 
should  modify  prejudices,  acerbity  of  thought  and 
expression,  and  tend  to  some  degree  to  bring  in  that 
blessed  time. 

''When  light  shall  spread,  and  man  be  like  man 
Through  all  the  seasons  of  the  Golden  Year." 

Integrity,  industry,  the  intelligent  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends,  are  everywhere  the  indispensable  condi- 
tions of  success.  Honest  work,  honest  dealing,  these 
qualities  mark  the  winner  in  every  part  of  the  world. 


JOHN  HAT 


GEORGE  W.  CURTIS  247 

The  artist,  the  poet,  the  artisan  and  the  statesman, 
they  everywhere  stand  or  fall  through  the  lack  or  the 
possession  of  similar  qualities.  How  shall  one  person 
hate  or  despise  another  when  we  have  seen  how  like  us 
they  are  in  most  respects,  and  how  superior  they  are  in 
some.  Why  should  we  not  revert  to  the  ancient  wisdom 
which  regarded  nothing  human  as  alien,  and  to  the  words 
of  Holy  Writ  which  remind  us  that  the  Almighty  has 
made  all  men  brethren? 

Let  us  remember  that  we  are  met  to  celebrate  the 
transfer  of  a  vast  empire  from  one  nation  to  another 
without  the  firing  of  a  shot,  without  the  shedding  of 
one  drop  of  blood.  If  the  press  of  the  world  would  adopt 
and  persist  in  the  high  resolve  that  war  should  be  no 
more,  the  clangor  of  arms  would  cease  from  the  rising 
of  the  sun  to  its  going  down,  and  we  could  fancy  that 
at  last  our  ears,  no  longer  stunned  by  the  din  of  armies, 
might  hear  the  morning  stars  singing  together,  and  all 
the  sons  of  God  shouting  for  joy. 

Questions  and  Exercises 
1.    What  is  an  ecumenical  council?    2.    Why  was  the  Louis- 
iana Purchase  Exposition  held  in  1904? 

THE   HIGHER   EDUCATION   OF   WOMEN 
George  W.  Curtis 

In  the  course  of  an  address  delivered  at  the  celebration 
of  the  completion  of  the  twenty-fifth  academic  year  of 
Vassar  College,  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  on  June  12, 
1890,  George  WiUiam  Curtis  said: 

'T  challenge  any  lover  of  Massachusetts,"  said  a 
great  patriot  and  scholar  at  the  centenary  of  the  battle 
of  Concord  and  Lexington,  "to  read  the  fifty-ninth  chap- 


248  AMEEICANIZATION 

ter  of  Bancroft's  History  without  tears  of-  joy."  It  is 
the  chapter  which  describes  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. With  something  of  the  same  feeling  I  may  say 
that  I  challenge  any  lover  of  New  York  or  of  the  Ameri- 
can character  to  read  the  first  communication  of  Matthew 
Vassar  to  the  trustees  of  this  college  without  profound 
gratitude  and  admiration.  In  his  simple  words,  uncon- 
sciously to  himself,  speaks  the  truest  spirit  of  his  time 
and  country.  ''It  occurred  to  me  that  woman,  having 
received  from  her  Creator  the  same  intellectual  constitu- 
tion as  man,  has  the  same  right  as  man  to  intellectual 
culture  and  development."  These  words  might  well 
be  carved  in  gold  over  the  entrance  of  Vassar  College. 
The  fundamental  truth  which  settles  the  controversy 
about  the  education  of  women  was  never  more  completely 
and  exclusively  expressed,  and,  like  all  fundamental 
truths  when  once  adequately  stated,  it  is  simple  and 
indisputable.  Yet  in  that  controversy,  if  he  heeded  it 
at  all,  Mr.  Vassar  had  taken  no  part.  The  conflict  with 
tradition  and  the  logical  consequences  which  his  views 
involved,  if  they  occurred  to  him,  did  not  trouble  him. 
"I  consider,"  he  said,  ''that  the  mothers  of  a  country 
mould  the  character  of  its  citizens,  determine  its  insti- 
tutions, and  shape  its  destiny."  The  duty  and  the 
necessity  of  the  thorough  training  of  all  their  faculties 
were,  therefore,  to  his  mind  unquestionable.  If  anybody 
was  anxious  about  the  sphere  of  woman,  Mr.  Vassar  was 
not.  Reason  and  observation  had  revealed  it.  As  there 
was  no  doubt  that  it  was  for  the  interest  of  society  that 
men  should  be  thoroughly  trained  morally,  intellectually, 
and  industrially,  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  such  -train- 
ing was  equally  desirable  for  women,  except  upon  the 
theory  which  advancing  civilization  had  steadily  abjured. 
-    There  is  no  surer  sign  of  a  more  liberal  civilization 


ELIHU  ROOT  249 

and  a  wiser  world  than  the  perception  that  the  bounds  of 
legitimate  womanly  interest  and  activity  are  not  to  be 
set  by  men,  as  heretofore,  to  mark  their  own  convenience 
and  pleasure.  The  tradition  of  the  lovely  incapacity 
of  woman  reflects  either  the  sensitive  apprehension  or 
the  ignoble  abasement  of  man.  The  progressive  amelio- 
ration of  the  laws  that  have  always  restricted  her  equality 
of  right,  the  enlarging  range  of  her  industrial  occupations, 
and  the  vanishing  of  prejudices  and  follies  of  opinion 
that  once  seemed  insuperable,  these  are  now  the  signs 
in  the  heavens. 

The  old  times  indeed  were  good,  but  the  new  times 
are  better.  We  have  left  woman  as  a  slave  with  Homer 
and  Pericles;  we  have  left  her  as  a  foolish  goddess  with 
chivalry  and  Don  Quixote;  we  have  left  her  as  a  toy 
with  Chesterfield  and  the  club;  and  in  the  enlightened 
American  daughter,  wife,  and  mother,  in  the  free 
American  home,  we  find  the  fairest  flower  and  the 
highest  promise  of  American  civilization. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Which  one  of  Tennyson's  longer  narrative  poems  deals 
throughout  with  the  higher  education  of  women? 


A  PAN-AMERICAN  POLICY* 
Elihu  Root 

No  nation  can  live  unto  itself  alone  and  continue  to 
live.  Each  nation's  growth  is  a  part  of  the  development 
of  the  race.  There  may  be  leaders  and  laggards,  but  no 
nation  can  continue  long  very  far  in  advance  of  the 

*Extract  from  an  address  at  the  Pan- American  Conference,  held 
at  Rio  Janeiro,  Brazil,  1906. 


250  AMEKICANIZATIOIsr 

general  progress  of  mankind,  and  no  nation  that  is  not 
doomed  to  extinction  can  remain  very  far  behind.  It  is 
with  nations  as  it  is  with  individual  men;  intercourse, 
association,  correction  of  egotism  by  the  influence  of 
other's  judgment,  broadening  of  views  by  the  experience 
and  thought  of  equals,  acceptance  of  the  moral  standards 
of  a  community,  the  desire  of  whose  good  opinion  lends 
a  sanction  to  the  rules  of  right  conduct — these  are  the 
conditions  of  growth  in  civilization.  A  people  whose 
minds  are  not  open  to  the  lessons  of  the  world's  progress, 
whose  spirits  are  not  stirred  by  the  aspirations  and 
achievements  of  humanity  struggUng  the  world  over  for 
liberty  and  justice,  must  be  left  behind  by  civilization 
in  its  steady  and  beneficent  advance. 

These  beneficent  results  the  government  and  the 
people  of  the  United  States  of  America  greatly  desire. 
We  wish  for  no  victories  but  those  of  peace;  for  no  terri- 
tory except  our  own;  for  no  sovereignty  except  the 
sovereignty  over  ourselves.  We  deem  the  independence 
and  the  equal  rights  of  the  smallest  and  weakest  mem- 
ber of  the  family  of  nations  entitled  to  as  much  respect 
as  those  of  the  greatest  empire,  and  we  deem  the  observ- 
ance of  that  respect  the  chief  guaranty  of  the  weak 
against  the  oppression  of  the  strong.  We  neither  claim 
or  desire  any  rights,  or  privileges,  or  powers  that  we  do 
not  concede  to  every  American  republic.  We  wish  to 
increase  our  prosperity,  to  expand  our  trade,  to  grow  in 
wealth,  in  wisdom,  and  in  spirit,  but  our  conception  of 
the  true  way  to  accomplish  this  is  not  to  pull  down  others 
and  profit  by  their  ruin,  but  to  help  all  friends  to  a  com- 
mon prosperity  and  a  common  growth,  that  we  may  all 
become  greater  and  stronger  together. 

Let  us  help  each  other  to  show  that  all  the  races  of 
men,  the  liberty  for  which  we  have  fought  and  labored, 


JOSEPH  C.  LINCOLN  251 

is  the  twin  sister  of  justice  and  peace.  Let  us  unite  in 
creating  and  maintaining  and  making  effective  an  ail- 
American  public  opinion,  whose  power  shall  influence 
international  conduct  and  prevent  international  wrong, 
narrow  the  causes  of  war,  and  forever  preserve  our  free 
lands  from  the  burden  of  such  armaments  as  are  massed 
behind  the  frontiers  of  Europe,  and  bring  us  ever  nearer 
to  the  perfection  of  ordered  liberty.  So  shall  come 
security  and  prosperity,  production  and  trade,  wealth, 
learning,  the  arts,  and  happiness  for  us  all. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

L  What  does  Mr.  Root  mean  by  the  term  "Pan-American"? 
2.  Why  should  our  government  be  interested  in  a  Pan- American 
policy? 

THE  AMERICANIZATION  OF  THE  CAPE 
COD  FISHERMEN* 
Joseph  C.  Lincoln 

Almost  any  man  can  do  a  great  deal,  if  he  will,  by 
getting  the  utmost  possible  service  out  of  the  qualities 
that  he  actually  possesses. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  success.  One  is  the  very  rare 
kind  that  comes  to  the  man  who  has  the  power  to  do 
what  no  one  else  has  the  power  to  do.  That  is  genius. 
I  am  not  discussing  what  form  that  genius  takes;  whether 
it  is  the  genius  of  a  man  who  can  write  a  poem  that  no  one 
else  can  write,  or  of  a  man  who  can  do  one  hundred  yards 
in  nine  and  three-fifth  seconds.  Such  a  man  does  what 
no  one  else  can  do.  Only  a  very  limited  amount  of  the 
success  of  life  comes  to  persons  possessing  genius.     The 

*Extract  from  an  address  before  the  Cambridge  Union,  May  26, 
1910.    By  permission  of  The  Outlook. 


262  AMERICANIZATION 

average  man  who  is  successful — the  average  statesman, 
the  average  public  servant,  the  average  soldier,  who  wins 
what  we  call  great  success — is  not  a  genius.  He  is  a 
man  who  has  merely  the  ordinary  quahties  that  he 
shares  with  his  fellows,  but  who  has  developed  those 
ordinary  quahties  to  a  more  than  ordinary  degree. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  great  successes;  but  what  I  have 
said  appUes  just  as  much  to  the  success  that  is  within 
the  reach  of  almost  every  one  of  us.  I  think  that  any 
man  who  has  had  what  is  regarded  in  the  world  as  a  great 
success  must  realize  that  the  element  of  chance  has 
played  a  great  part  in  it.  Of  course  a  man  has  to  take 
advantage  of  his  opportunities;  but  the  opportunities 
have  to  come.  If  there  is  not  the  war,  you  don't  get 
the  great  general;  if  there  is  not  a  great  occasion,  you 
don't  get  the  great  statesman;  if  Lincoln  had  lived  in 
times  of  peace,  no  one  would  have  known  his  name  now. 
The  great  crisis  must  come,  or  no  man  has  the  chance  to 
develop  great  qualities. 

There  are  exceptional  cases,  of  course,  where  there  is  a 
man  who  can  do  just  one  thing,  such  as  a  man  who  can 
play  a  dozen  games  of  chess  or  juggle  with  four  rows  of 
figures  at  once — and,  as  a  rule,  he  can  do  nothing  else. 
A  man  of  this  type  can  do  nothing  unless  in  the  one  crisis 
for  which  his  powers  fit  him.  But  normally  the  man 
who  makes  the  great  success  when  the  emergency  arises 
is  the  man  who  would  have  made  a  fair  success  in  any 
event.  I  beheve  that  the  man  who  is  really  happy  in  a 
great  position — in  what  we  call  a  career — is  the  man  who 
would  also  be  happy  and  regard  his  life  as  successful  if 
he  had  never  been  thrown  into  that  position.  If  a  man 
fives  a  decent  fife  and  does  his  work  fairly  and  squarely 
so  that  those  dependent  on  him  and  attached  to  him 
are  better  for  his  having  lived,  then  he  is  a  success,  and 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  253 

he  deserves  to  feel  that  he  has  done  his  duty  and  he 
deserves  to  be  treated  by  those  who  have  had  greater 
success,  as  nevertheless  having  shown  the  fundamental 
qualities  that  entitle  him  to  respect. 

There  is  no  man  here  to-day  who  has  not  the  chance 
so  to  shape  his  life  that  he  shall  have  the  right  to  feel 
when  his  life  ends  that  he  has  made  a  real  success  of  it; 
and  his  making  a  real  success  of  it  does  not  in  the  least 
depend  upon  the  prominence  of  the  position  he  holds. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Why  would  Lincohi  have  been  unknown  had  there  been 
no  war  in  1861?  2.  What  is  your  idea  of  the  most  successful 
man? 


THE  CONDITIONS  OF  A  SUCCESSFUL  LIFE* 
Theodore  Roosevelt 

Every  New  Englander  can  have  but  the  highest  and 
most  profound  respect  for  that  brave  band  of  wayfarers 
who  came  to  Plymouth  in  the  old  days.  In  the  first 
place,  everybody  must  respect  them  for  believing  in 
things.  They  believed  in  God,  and  they  believed  in  the 
right,  and  they  believed  in  honesty  and  they  believed  in 
freedom — and  freedom  did  not  in  their  case  mean  law- 
lessness or  license.  They  believed,  too,  in  work.  That 
sounds  unusual  to-day,  but  they  did.  They  believed 
not  only  in  the  honor  of  a  day^s  work,  and  that  an  honest 
day's  pay  should  go  for  a  day's  work,  but  they  believed 
that  an  honest  day's  work  should  be  delivered  for  a  day's 
pay. 

*Adapted  from  a  speech  at  the  annual  dinner  of  the  New  England 
Society  of  New  York  City,  December  22,  1919. 


254  AMERICANIZATION 

They  did  not  talk  largely  of  community  rights,  per- 
haps, but  they  certainly  looked  out  for  the  rights  of  their 
community.  Do  you  remember  that  first  winter  when 
all  well  enough  to  do  it,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
went  out  and  dug  clams  for  the  sustenance  of  the  starv- 
ing? If  that  had  happened  to-day,  the  Amalgamated 
Order  of  Clam  Diggers  would  have  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity to  strike. 

When  I  think  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  naturally  I  think 
of  the  old  sea  captains  of  Cape  Cod.  Those  men  had 
many  of  the  Pilgrim  characteristics.  They  were  honest, 
they  were  hard  workers,  they  were  fearless,  and  they  were 
brave. 

Another  thing  for  which  they  stood  undeviatingly,  was 
their  love  of  this  country,  their  patriotism.  You  see,  in 
the  old  days,  the  days  without  cables,  the  days  without 
wireless,  when  a  ship  put  out  from  a  port  with  an  Ameri- 
can flag  flying,  that  ship  was  a  little  section  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  men  in  charge  of  her  assumed  that 
responsibility;  they  felt  they  carried  that  little  bit  of  the 
United  States  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  I  do  not  mean 
they  went  about  with  a  chip  on  their  shoulders.  I  think 
they  felt  more  like,  to  use  a  better  expression,  pitying 
anyone  unfortunate  enough  not  to  be  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  I  knew  one  captain  who  told  me  a  story 
which  illustrates  this.  He  said  that  once  his  ship  was 
at  the  entrance  to  the  Suez  Canal,  and  he  decked  the 
ship  with  flags,  and  the  English  Consul  there  came  aboard 
and  said,  "Captain,  why  have  you  got  your  ship  decor- 
ated?" And  the  captain  replied,  ''This  is  the  17th  of 
June."  And  the  'Consul  said,  "What  does  that  mean?" 
The  captain  said  to  him,  "That's  the  anniversary  of  the 
Battle  of  Bunker  Hill."  Then  the  Consul  remarked, 
"The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill?     I  never  knew  why  you 


THEODOEE  ROOSEVELT  255 

Americans  should  want  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Why,  we  were  on  that  hill 
when  the  battle  was  over."  And  the  captain  told  me, 
"I  leaned  forward  and  tapped  that  fellow  on  the  shoulder 
and  I  said,  'Son,  who's  on  that  hill  now?' '' 

You  know,  we  have  all  a  pet  wish.  I  think  my  pet 
wish  sometimes  is  just  this:  I  wish  I  could  set  back  the 
clock  of  time  for  a  Httle  and  carry  with  it  persons  and 
events.  I  should  like  to  set  back  the  clock  to  some  time 
in  the  fifties,  and  then  I  should  like  to  take  a  dozen  of 
our  friends  in  the  I.  W.  W.  and  the  Soviet  ranks,  who 
care  nothing  for  America,  and  I  should  like  to  add  to 
them  some  of  our  back-parlor  Trotskys — I  should  like 
to  take  that  dozen  selected  and  ship  them  aboard  an  old- 
time  Cape  Cod  ship  with  a  Cape  Cod  captain  and  Cape 
Cod  mates,  and  send  the  outfit  on  a  long  voyage. 
Believe  me,  my  friends,  when  the  port  was  reached  that 
crew  would  either  be  mighty  good  Americans  or  mighty 
feeble  Bolshevists. 

So  here's  to  those  old  ancestors  of  ours.  They  believed 
in  and  they  were  grateful  to  this  land,  the  land  that 
afforded  them  a  refuge  and  freedom.  It  seems  to  me 
that  upon  us  now  rests  the  responsibilitity  to  carry  on 
this  democracy  which  they  founded  as  they  would  have 
wished  us  to  do,  along  the  lines  they  laid  down.  Well,  I 
have  faith  in  America,  and  I  believe  America  is  going  to 
do  it. 

Questions  and  Exercises 

1.  Who  is  the  author,  and  why  does  he  "naturally"  allude 
to  the  Cape  Cod  fishermen?  2.  Compare 'this  story  with  that 
of  Philip  Nolan,  in  Edward  Everett  Hale's  ''Man  Without  a 
Country."    3.    What  is  meant  by  "our  back-parlor  Trotskys'  ? 

PRINTED  IN  U.  S.  OF  AMERICA 


RETURN 


MAINCIRCULaiiOM 


ALL  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  RECALL 
RENEW  BOOKS  BY  CALLING  642-3405 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 

APR  22 1985 

ikzhi^ 

to/cJ^L 

RECEIVED 

OCI   :  5  1996 

CIRCULATION  DEPT. 

J.^.'l  1  7  19! 

1/ 

MAR  1 3  2000 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
FORM  NO.  DD6                                BERKELEY,  CA  94720 

tB  66348 


42^, 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


.:.^;  ^./- 


